Dividing by 7, step by step
The sevens are the one table with no shortcut, which makes reading a division fact backwards the whole method rather than a helpful extra.
The question
56 ÷ 7
56÷7
7×?=56
7×8=56
56÷7=8
8×7=56
- 56 ÷ 7 means sharing 56 out equally between 7. Deal them round one at a time until they run out; the answer is how many end up in one share.
- Dealing out 56 one at a time works, and takes all day. The shortcut is the same fact read backwards: 7 shares of WHAT makes 56?
- 7 × 8 = 56. That is the one, so 56 ÷ 7 = 8.
- Worth checking, because it costs one multiplication: 8 × 7 = 56. It matches, so the answer holds.
How it works.
- 01
56 ÷ 7 means sharing 56 out equally between 7. Deal them round one at a time until they run out; the answer is how many end up in one share.
- 02
Dealing out 56 one at a time works, and takes all day. The shortcut is the same fact read backwards: 7 shares of WHAT makes 56?
- 03
7 × 8 = 56. That is the one, so 56 ÷ 7 = 8.
- 04
Worth checking, because it costs one multiplication: 8 × 7 = 56. It matches, so the answer holds.