Negative Multiplication Chart for Learning the Sign Rules

A filled chart from −5 to 5 that shows where the answers turn negative, with a practice sheet to print.

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Multiplication chart −5 to 5

Name Date

Multiplication chart −5 to 5. Each square holds its row number times its column number.
×−5−4−3−2−1012345
−52520151050−5−10−15−20−25
−4201612840−4−8−12−16−20
−315129630−3−6−9−12−15
−21086420−2−4−6−8−10
−1543210−1−2−3−4−5
000000000000
1−5−4−3−2−1012345
2−10−8−6−4−20246810
3−15−12−9−6−303691215
4−20−16−12−8−4048121620
5−25−20−15−10−50510152025

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For a PDF, press Print, then save as PDF in the print window. Print gives this chart on one page.

Light a fact with a negative number

Multiplication chart −5 to 5.

Next step Plot negative numbers on a gridPractice the facts behind the signs

How it works

This negative multiplication chart opens filled in from −5 × −5 to 5 × 5, and runs −10 to 10 or −12 to 12. The 2 striped blocks hold every negative answer. A cross of zeros separates them from the positive blocks.

Read the full guide

Where the negative answers sit

Rows run −5 to 5 from the top, columns −5 to 5 from the left. Top right is negative × positive and bottom left is positive × negative: both are striped, and every answer there is below 0. Top left is negative × negative and matches the bottom right block: −3 × −4 = 12, like 3 × 4.

Why a negative times a negative is positive

Follow the pattern. Along the 3 row each step left drops by 3: 6, 3, 0, −3, −6. Along the −3 row each step left climbs by 3: −6, −3, 0, 3, 6. Past the 0 column the climb can only land on positive numbers, so −3 × −1 = 3.

  • Work out the numbers first, then the sign: 1 minus sign gives a negative answer, 2 give a positive one.
  • Tap any −12: 4 striped squares light up. On −12 to 12 it is 12.
  • For practice, choose Partly blank and press Print the chart. Typing an answer below zero needs a minus key.

Questions and answers

What are the rules for multiplying negative numbers?

Same signs give a positive answer, different signs give a negative one, and anything times 0 is 0. So −3 × −4 = 12 and 3 × 4 = 12, while −3 × 4 and 3 × −4 are both −12.

Can I print the negative multiplication chart?

Yes. Press Print the chart for one page: −5 to 5 prints upright, the larger sizes sideways. Choose Blank or Partly blank first for a practice sheet with an answer key on page 2. Paper has no stripes, so minus signs carry the pattern.

How many squares are on a chart from −12 to 12?

625, in 25 rows and 25 columns. 288 hold a negative answer, 288 a positive one and 49 hold 0. Every number from the 1 to 12 chart appears twice as often, and its negative as often: 12 and −12 sit in 12 squares each.

All 22 facts

Negative × positive 4

  • −2 × 5 = −10 Walk right along the −2 row from the 0 column: 0, −2, −4, −6, −8, −10. Each step takes away 2 more.
  • −3 × 4 = −12 A negative times a positive is negative. Think of 4 jumps of −3 on a number line: −3, −6, −9, −12.
  • −4 × 3 = −12 The same −12 as −3 × 4. On the −5 to 5 chart −12 sits in 4 squares, and all 4 are striped.
  • −5 × 5 = −25 The top right corner of the −5 to 5 chart. −25 is the lowest number on it, and 5 × −5 holds it too.

Positive × negative 3

  • 2 × −4 = −8 On the −5 to 5 chart −8 sits in 4 squares: 2 × −4, −4 × 2, 4 × −2 and −2 × 4.
  • 4 × −3 = −12 A positive times a negative is negative too. The order does not matter: 4 × −3 equals −3 × 4.
  • 5 × −2 = −10 Walk left along the 5 row and past the 0 column: 10, 5, 0, −5, −10. The row keeps dropping by 5.
Show all 22 facts (15 more)

Negative × negative 4

  • −2 × −2 = 4 On the framed diagonal. A number times itself is never negative, so no framed square is striped.
  • −3 × −4 = 12 A negative times a negative is positive. Walk left along the −3 row: −3, 0, 3, 6, 9, 12. It climbs past 0.
  • −4 × −5 = 20 On the −5 to 5 chart 20 sits in 4 squares: −4 × −5, −5 × −4, 4 × 5 and 5 × 4. None is striped.
  • −5 × −5 = 25 The top left corner of the −5 to 5 chart. It matches 5 × 5 in the bottom right corner.

With 0, 1 or −1 5

  • 0 × 0 = 0 The center of the chart. 0 sits in 21 squares on the −5 to 5 chart and in 49 on −12 to 12.
  • −1 × 5 = −5 −1 times a number gives its opposite. The −1 row reads 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, −1, −2, −3, −4, −5.
  • −1 × −1 = 1 The smallest case of negative times negative. 1 sits in 2 squares: here and at 1 × 1.
  • 1 × −5 = −5 1 times a number leaves it alone, so the 1 row repeats the headings, minus signs included.
  • −4 × 0 = 0 Any number times 0 is 0. The 0 row and the 0 column make a cross of zeros between the 4 blocks.

On the larger charts 6

  • 6 × −7 = −42 1 minus sign, so the answer is negative. On the −10 to 10 chart −42 sits in 4 squares.
  • −7 × 8 = −56 Too large for −5 to 5, so a press opens a larger chart. Work out 7 × 8 = 56, then the sign: 1 minus sign, so negative.
  • −9 × −6 = 54 Work out 9 × 6 = 54, then the sign: 2 minus signs, so the answer is positive.
  • −12 × 1 = −12 On the −12 to 12 chart −12 sits in 12 squares. On the −5 to 5 chart it sits in 4.
  • −12 × 12 = −144 The top right corner of the −12 to 12 chart. −144 is the lowest number on it.
  • −12 × −12 = 144 The top left corner of the −12 to 12 chart. It equals 12 × 12 in the bottom right corner.

How this list was compiled: Own work. Every answer and every count in these notes is worked out from the multiplication table and was checked twice on 2026-09-18. The sign rules (a positive times a negative is negative, a negative times a negative is positive, any number times 0 is 0, and −1 times a number is its opposite) were checked on 2026-09-18 against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplication . Licence: own work

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