The Mystery of Multiplication: Solved with LEGO Bricks!

Multiplication. It sounds like a big, fancy word, doesn’t it? When you first see problems like $5\times 3$ or $7\times 2$, it can feel like a secret code.

But guess what? Multiplication isn’t a mystery at all! It’s actually a super-fast shortcut for something you already know how to do: addition! And we’re going to prove it using one of the best tools ever invented—LEGO bricks!

 

The first number ($3$) tells you how many groups you need, and the second number ($4$) tells you how many things (or studs) are in each group.

Building the Math with LEGOs

To solve $3\times 4$ using your LEGOs, you just need to follow a simple building plan:

1. Make Your Groups: Find three separate LEGO bricks that each have exactly 4 studs on top (like three separate $2\times 2$ bricks).
2. Add Them Up: Now, count all the studs on your three bricks.
   • You have the first group of 4.
   • You have the second group of 4.
   • You have the third group of 4.
3. The Answer: If you use addition, it looks like this: $$4+4+4=12$$

That means when you use the multiplication shortcut, the answer is the same!

$$3\times 4=12$$

It’s just a faster way to count!

The Big Idea: The Groups and the Size

You can always think of a multiplication problem as:

$$\text{Groups}\times \text{Size of Each Group}=\text{Total}$$

Let’s try another one: $2\times 5$.

• Groups: You need two separate groups.
• Size: Each group needs 5 studs. (You could use two $1\times 5$ bricks or one $2\times 3$ and one $1\times 1$ that equal 5!)

Addition Way: $5+5=10$

Multiplication Way: $2\times 5=10$

See? It’s the same! Multiplication just saves you time.

🧱 LEGO Math Challenge!

Grab your bricks and a piece of paper. Try to solve these problems by building the groups:

1. $5\times 2$ (Five groups of two studs)
2. $4\times 3$ (Four groups of three studs)
3. $3\times 5$ (Three groups of five studs)

Once you’ve built them, count the total studs to find your answer.

Keep practicing your building and your math! The more you see multiplication as a way to quickly count groups, the easier it will become. Happy building and happy calculating!