Arrays

In your book, Maths Mela (Chapter 9), things are arranged in rows and columns. This is called an array, and we can count an array by multiplying. The 'Dailyfresh' supermarket has boxes of strawberries on a big tray: 16 columns, with 6 boxes in each column. That is 16 × 6.

Split the 16 columns into 10 and 6. 10 columns have 10 × 6 = 60 boxes. 6 columns have 6 × 6 = 36 boxes. 60 + 36 = 96. So there are 96 boxes.

Radha runs a bakery. She bakes 18 cupcakes in one tray, and can put two trays in her oven at a time: 18 + 18 = 36 cupcakes. For a special order she made 108 cupcakes. How many trays? 18, 36, 54, 72, 90, 108: that is 6 trays. She also has a square tray for 36 mini cupcakes: 6 columns with 6 in each, 6 × 6 = 36.

The same number can make different arrays. 24 cupcakes can go in 4 rows of 6, 3 rows of 8, or 2 rows of 12. 12 can be 3 rows of 4 or 2 rows of 6. But 12 cannot be 5 rows of 2, because 5 × 2 is only 10.