Related division facts

Last lesson, we built the multiplication tables of 6, 7, 8 and 9 by adding one more group each time. Today, we will use a multiplication fact to find the number of groups or the number in each group. A gardener has 48 seeds. She puts 8 seeds in each tray. How many trays does she use? Here are 48 seeds, not yet put into trays. We put these 48 seeds into trays of 8. How many groups of 8 make 48? 6 times 8 is 48. We know the total and the number in each tray. We divide by 8 to find the number of trays. 48 divided by 8 is 6. The seeds now fit into 6 equal groups of 8. The question asks for the number of trays. So she uses 6 trays.

A gardener shares 56 orchids equally among 7 planters. How many orchids are in each planter? Try it first. Pause if you like. Here are 56 orchids, not yet put into planters. There are 7 planters to share the orchids equally. 7 times which number makes 56? 7 times 8 is 56. We know the total and the number of planters. We divide by 7 to find the number in each planter. 56 divided by 7 is 8. The orchids now fit into 7 equal groups of 8. The question asks how many orchids are in each planter. So each planter has 8 orchids.

A gardener has 63 seeds. She puts 9 seeds in each packet. How many packets does she fill? Try it first. Pause if you like. Here are 63 seeds, not yet put into packets. How many groups of 9 make 63? 7 times 9 is 63. We know the total and the number in each packet. We divide by 9 to find the number of packets. 63 divided by 9 is 7. The seeds now fit into 7 equal groups of 9. So she fills 7 packets. The same multiplication fact gives the total, the number of groups and the number in each group. Check which one the question asks for.