Multiplying whole numbers practice - Find the missing digit

Students multiply a two- to four-digit number by a two- or three-digit number with the standard algorithm, then check their result against three choices.

• Multiply by a multiple of ten: 260 × 60
• Multiply by a two-digit number: 2,406 × 15
• Multiply by a three-digit number: 9,877 × 233
• Compare answers that differ by a single digit

This is standard 5.NBT.B.5, fluent multi-digit multiplication, which 6th graders extend to decimals.

Print page one and ask your child to work each problem on scrap paper or in the grid before looking at the three choices.

• Write one partial product per row, adding a zero for the tens row and two zeros for the hundreds row.
• Add the partial products and write the total in the box.
• Only then tick the matching choice; if none matches, redo the work.

Page two shows each product in red with the correct box ticked.

• Forgetting the placeholder zero: in 931 × 58 the tens row is 46,550, not 4,655.
• Dropping a carried digit: 8,582 × 92 is 789,544; a lost carry gives 789,543 or 779,544.
• Guessing from the choices: the three options look alike, so the box must be filled first.

Next, apply the same algorithm to word problems, then to factors with four or more digits.