Usually the multiplier is placed first and the multiplicand is placed second however sometimes the first factor is the multiplicand and the second the multiplier. The number to be multiplied is the 'multiplicand', and the number by which it is multiplied is the 'multiplier'.

The numbers to be multiplied are generally called the ' factors'. This usage originated in the FORTRAN programming language. This is due to the fact that most computers historically were limited to small character sets (such as ASCII and EBCDIC) that lacked a multiplication sign (such as ⋅ or ×), while the asterisk appeared on every keyboard. In computer programming, the asterisk (as in 5*2) is still the most common notation.

The cross symbol generally denotes the taking a cross product of two vectors, yielding a vector as the result, while the dot denotes taking the dot product of two vectors, resulting in a scalar.

In vector multiplication, there is a distinction between the cross and the dot symbols.

This implicit usage of multiplication can cause ambiguity when the concatenated variables happen to match the name of another variable, when a variable name in front of a parenthesis can be confused with a function name, or in the correct determination of the order of operations. The notation can also be used for quantities that are surrounded by parentheses (e.g., 5(2) or (5)(2) for five times two).

In algebra, multiplication involving variables is often written as a juxtaposition (e.g., xy for x times y or 5 x for five times x), also called implied multiplication.

In other countries that use a comma as a decimal mark, either the period or a middle dot is used for multiplication. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the period/full stop is used for multiplication and the middle dot is used for the decimal point, although the use a period/full stop for decimal point is common. When the dot operator character is not accessible, the interpunct ( 3 The middle dot notation, encoded in Unicode as U+22C5 ⋅ DOT OPERATOR, is standard in the United States and other countries where the period is used as a decimal point. Multiplication is also denoted by dot signs, usually a middle-position dot (rarely period):ĥ ⋅ 2 or 5.There are other mathematical notations for multiplication: The sign is encoded in Unicode at U+00D7 × MULTIPLICATION SIGN (HTML × Term + term summand + summand addend + addend augend + addend } =

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