Finding the Unknown in Multiplication & Division Equations
Practice finding missing numbers in multiplication and division equations. Strengthen your understanding of the relationship between multiplication and division using whole numbers.
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Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Find the unknown whole number that makes each equation true.
- 1.4 × ? = 28
- 2.? × 6 = 42
- 3.8 × ? = 48
- 4.? × 9 = 63
- 5.5 × ? = 45
- 6.? × 7 = 56
- 7.3 × ? = 27
- 8.? × 8 = 72
- 9.6 × ? = 54
- 10.? × 4 = 36
- 11.56 ÷ ? = 7
- 12.? ÷ 6 = 8
- 13.72 ÷ ? = 9
- 14.? ÷ 7 = 6
- 15.45 ÷ ? = 5
- 16.? ÷ 8 = 7
- 17.63 ÷ ? = 9
- 18.? ÷ 4 = 8
- 19.2 × ? = 18
- 20.? × 10 = 70
- 21.30 ÷ ? = 6
- 22.? ÷ 9 = 8
What this worksheet covers
22 multiplication problems fill this missing number page; problem 8 asks "? × 8 = 72", and the sheet stays at that level throughout. The numbers run as high as 72. Further down, problem 15 asks "45 ÷ ? = 5". The sheet sits inside Common Core 3.OA.4, in the grade 3 Operations & Algebraic Thinking strand.
Skills practised
The grade 3 multiplication sequence covers multiplication facts to 10 × 10 and 12 × 12, and multiplying by multiples of ten; this page sits inside it. The skill on the page: finding the Unknown in Multiplication & Division Equations. Concretely, the sheet tests whether a student can recall the multiplication facts quickly and accurately, without counting up to them. Ten different answers appear across the 22 problems, so a student cannot copy one result down the page.
About the missing number format
The 22 problems here move the unknown around, so a student solves for a missing part as often as for a result; problem 8, "? × 8 = 72" is one of them. An unknown factor is division in disguise, so this format is where multiplication and division fact families are built.
Set A, Set B and Set C
Set A is the original MathSheetLab worksheet; Sets B and C keep its structure and redraw the numbers, with each answer recomputed rather than copied. Where Set A's problem 12 is "? ÷ 6 = 8", Set B's is "? ÷ 9 = 3".
How to use this worksheet
Work the 22 problems straight through, then check against the key together rather than handing it back marked; asking a grade 3 student to find their own multiplication error teaches more than seeing it circled. Ask the student to re-work one missed multiplication problem from scratch on Set B rather than correcting it in place; the second attempt shows whether the method changed.
One mistake to watch for
Facts are found by skip counting from zero every time. On this grade 3 missing number, problem 15 ("45 ÷ ? = 5") is the kind of item where it shows.
The table is known as a sequence, not as individual facts, so 7 × 8 means reciting eight sevens.
Drill the facts out of order and use the known-fact strategy: 7 × 8 is 7 × 4 doubled, or 5 × 8 plus 2 × 8.
Other grade 3 multiplication formats
The same skill in the other formats available at this grade.
- Drill — Grade 3 Multiplication Practice, 20 problems
- Timed Drill — 3.OA.1 — Interpreting Products of Whole Numbers, 20 problems
- Mixed Review — Multiplying by Multiples of 10 — Grade 3 Practice, 20 problems
- Word Problems — 3.OA.3 — Multiplication & Division Word Problems, 22 problems
- Vertical Format — Grade 3 Multiplication Vertical Format, 20 problems
A step either side
The same format one grade down and one grade up — the easier sheet is often the faster fix when this one is not landing.
- Grade 2 Multiplication Missing Number — grade 2, 24 problems
- Grade 4 Multiplication Missing Number — grade 4, 24 problems
Missing Number sheets in other grade 3 topics
Six PDFs, no sign-up: three versions of this grade 3 multiplication missing number and three answer keys, each 22 problems long.