Why is the 7 times table so hard?

Unlike the 2s, 5s or 10s, the 7 times table has no simple last-digit pattern, so it cannot be guessed at a glance. The trick is to split 7 into 5 + 2 and add two easier products.

Do I really need to memorise the whole 7 times table?

Not all of it. Thanks to the swap rule, many 7-times facts also appear in tables you already know. The only ones unique to the 7s are 7 × 7, plus the larger 7 × 8, 7 × 9, and so on.

The 7 Times Table | Math

The reputation of the 7s

Ask people which times table is the hardest, and most say the 7 times table. It has no easy last-digit pattern like the 2s, 5s or 10s, so you cannot guess the answers at a glance. But with one good strategy, the 7s become much friendlier.

The split strategy: 7 = 5 + 2

Here is the key idea. The number 7 is made of 5 + 2, and both the 5 times and 2 times tables are easy. So to multiply by 7, multiply by 5, multiply by 2, and add the two parts.

Example — 7 × 6:

Multiply by 5: 5 × 6 = 30
Multiply by 2: 2 × 6 = 12
Add them: 30 + 12 = 42

So 7 × 6 = 42. This works for every fact, and it turns one hard step into two easy ones.

Fact	5 × it	2 × it	Add	7 × it
7 × 4	20	8	28	28
7 × 6	30	12	42	42
7 × 8	40	16	56	56
7 × 9	45	18	63	63

The swap rule shrinks the job

Multiplication can be done in any order, so 7 × 4 is the same as 4 × 7. This is great news: many 7-times facts also live in tables you have already learned.

2 × 7, 3 × 7, 4 × 7, 5 × 7 and 6 × 7 all appear when you learn the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 times tables.
That leaves only a handful that feel "new": 7 × 7, 7 × 8, 7 × 9 and the 10, 11, 12 facts.

So you do not have twelve brand-new facts to learn — really just a few.

The one to memorise

The fact right in the middle, 7 × 7 = 49, does not come from any other table, so it is worth simply remembering. A nice way to lock it in: "seven sevens are forty-nine."

The full table

×	7 times table
1	7
2	14
3	21
4	28
5	35
6	42
7	49
8	56
9	63
10	70
11	77
12	84

Each line is 7 more than the one above. If you ever forget a fact, you can count on 7 from a fact you do know.

Worked example

A week has 7 days. How many days are there in 8 weeks?

This is 7 × 8.
Split: 5 × 8 = 40, and 2 × 8 = 16.
Add: 40 + 16 = 56 days.

You could also use the swap rule and think of it as 8 × 7 — the same answer, 56.

Try it yourself

Use the 5 + 2 split to work out 7 × 5, 7 × 7 and 7 × 9. Check each against the table above.
Count up in 7s from 7 to 84. How far can you go without looking?
Real life: there are 7 days in a week. How many days in 6 weeks? In 9 weeks?

Where this leads

The split strategy you used here — breaking a hard fact into two easy ones — is the same thinking behind Mental Math Strategies and the Grid Method for Multiplication. Master the 7s and your whole Times Tables knowledge falls into place.

The 7 Times Table

Key takeaways