A multiplication is a repetition of additions:
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12 is then written 4 × 3 = 12 because we are adding 4 times the number 3.
The terms present each side of the operator ( x ) are called factors. The result of the operation is called de product. In this example: 3 and 4 are factors, 12 is the product.
This animation allows to conceptualize multiplication as a rectangle: the product corresponds to the number of squares included in the rectangle. It is possible at this point to include concepts of surface because the number of squares matches the measures of the surface of the colored rectangle.
The operation opposite of the multiplication is the division. The division is the operation which consists in splitting a quantity into equal shares:
12 ÷ 3 = 4
The dividend is the number to divide, the divisor is to number who divides, the quotient is the result of the operation.