From Janet: IN A MULTIPLICATION SENTENCE BASED ON A DRAWING..IS THERE ANY ORDER FOR THE MULTIPLICAND ANG MULTIPLIER FOR THE ANSWER TO RIGHT? Answered by Robert Dawson.
From Karen: The K-5 curriculum states that at a grade 5 level students should "understand and use the terms multiplier, multiplicand" The curriculum defines 'multiplicand' as " a number being multiplied by another number. A factor." There is no definition given for 'multiplier'
Question: Define these words- are they just other words for 'factors'. If so, how important is it that students use these terms? It would seem like 'factors' would be the better choice of words to use. If multiplcand refers to eg. the first factor in the equation and the 'multiplier' the seond term, (if in fact it does)- is this not confusing for students when we teach them that multiplication is commutative? Answered by Penny Nom.