This applet shows multiplication as scaling (stretching or shrinking).
When using this concept of multiplication, the quantity being multiplied (the multiplicand) gets larger or smaller, depending on the size of the multiplier (also called the scale factor.)
The multiplicand can have any units; the multiplier has no units. For example, 3 times a length of 2 centimeters (as shown in the initial configuration) is a length of 6 centimeters. While the applet shows the multiplicand as length, in an applied situation it could be weight, money, time, area, etc.
The applet allows you to see why multiplying by some fractions makes the product smaller, and why negative numbers multiply as they do.
