Q&A for How to Do Short Division

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  • Question
    What if your divisor divides exactly into the dividend?
    Community Answer
    You just don't have a remainder. For example, 27 divided by 9 is simply 3.
  • Question
    How to do long division?
    Community Answer
    The same basic way, except that you write down all of your steps. See How to Do Long Division .
  • Question
    How do I do short division when the dividend is a longer number than the divisor?
    Community Answer
    If the question is 362 divided by 56, first you put a decimal point above the "6" in the dividend where the quotient would be. Then add more zeros to 56 until you can fit the divisor inside the number. Then divide. When you answer, there should be a decimal in your quotient.
  • Question
    Does it change anything if there are decimals in the equation?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    No, the operation remains the same. For simplicity's sake, if there's a decimal in the divisor, you would move the decimal point enough places to the right to clear the divisor of the decimal point (and then move the decimal point the same number of spaces to the right in the dividend) before performing the division.
  • Question
    What do you do when you can't divide, but it's the last number? For example 181 divided by 6.
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    The last number in the quotient will be zero with a remainder after that. In this case the answer is 30 with a remainder of 1.
  • Question
    Are there any professions that use long division?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    Long division is not used specifically in any profession, other than for scientific studies or maybe in some engineering/architectural applications. It's simply a tool available to anyone when a calculator is not available.
  • Question
    How do I do short division if the divisor is a two-digit number?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    "Short division" means mental division and works best with one-digit divisors. Long division is recommended with divisors of two or more digits (unless you're really good at doing division and subtraction in your head).
  • Question
    How do I divide a three-digit divisor into a one-digit dividend when the divisor is larger than the dividend?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    Place a decimal point followed by at least two zeroes to the right of the dividend. That will allow you to perform the division. Place a decimal point in the quotient immediately above the decimal point in the dividend.
  • Question
    What do I do if I have a one in the dividend?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    If you mean the whole dividend consists of 1, you follow the 1 with a decimal point and a few zeroes and start dividing.
  • Question
    How can I identify if the division is wrong?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    To check your answer, multiply the quotient by the divisor, and then if there's a remainder add it to the product. The sum should be identical to the dividend. If not, you've made an error in the division (or in checking the answer).
  • Question
    How do I divide 107,000 by 100 using the shortest method?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    The shortest method is to move the decimal point two places to the left: 107,000. divided by 100 is 1,070.00.
  • Question
    How do I divide 4 from a thousand using long division?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    To divide 4 into 1,000, use short division. (Long division is unnecessarily complicated in this case.) 4 into 10 is 2 with a remainder of 2. 4 into 20 is 5 with no remainder. 4 into zero is zero. The quotient is 250.
  • Question
    What is 25.11 divided by 9 using short division?
    Community Answer
    Divide 25 by 9. That's 2. Place the 2 directly above the 5. Multiply 9 by 2. That's 18. Place the 18 under the 25. Subtract: 25 - 18 = 7. Bring down the first 1. Divide 9 into 71. That's 7. Place the 7 directly above the first 1 in the dividend. Now multiply 7 by 9. That's 63. Place the 63 below the 71. Subtract 63 from 71. That's 8. Bring down the second 1 from the dividend. That makes 81 at the bottom. Now divide 9 into 81. That's 9 with no remainder. Place a 9 immediately above the second 1 in the dividend. Now place a decimal point in the quotient immediately above the decimal point in the dividend. You're done. The quotient is 2.79. For more, see Divide Decimals .
  • Question
    How can I divide 32320 by 20?
    Community Answer
    Cross of two zeros. You now have 3232/2, which is 1616.
  • Question
    What if the question is 7748 divided by 5?
    Community Answer
    5 goes into 7 once with a remainder of 2. Bring down the 2 and the next 7. 5 goes into 27 5 times with a remainder of 2. Bring down the 2 and the 4. 5 goes into 24 4 times with a remainder of 4. Bring down the 4 and the 8. 5 goes into 48 9 times with a remainder of 3. The quotient is 1549 with a remainder of 3.
  • Question
    How many 7's can fit into 5?
    Community Answer
    No 7's can fit into 5. 5 ÷ 7 = 0.714. (That's the same as saying 71.4% of a 7 can fit into a 5.)
  • Question
    What if there's no remainder?
    Community Answer
    It's fine if there's no remainder. That just means that the divisor divides into the dividend a whole number of times. For example, 3 divides into 27 exactly nine times with no remainder.
  • Question
    How do you add a number to 0?
    Community Answer
    Adding a number to zero is the same as adding zero to the number. In other words, nothing changes. 0 + x = x + 0 = x.
  • Question
    How do you divide by a 2-digit number?
    Community Answer
  • Question
    How do you divide decimals?
    Community Answer
    See Divide Decimals and related articles.
  • Question
    What is 8235 divided by five?
    Community Answer
    5 goes into 8 one time with a remainder of 3. Bring down the 3 and the 2. 5 goes into 32 six times with a remainder of 2. Bring down the 2 and the 3. 5 goes into 23 four times with a remainder of 3. Bring down the 3 and the 5. 5 goes into 35 seven times with a remainder of zero. The answer is 1647.
  • Question
    What is 748÷7? Show me the steps, please.
    Community Answer
    7 goes into 7 one time. 1 times 7 is 7. 7 - 7 = 0. Bring down the 4. 7 goes into 04 zero times. 0 times 7 = 0. Bring down the 8 next to the 4. 7 goes into 48 six times with a remainder of 6. The quotient is 106 with a remainder of 6.
  • Question
    How do I divide 6402 by 4 with the short division method?
    Community Answer
    4 goes into 6 once. Bring down a 2. 4 goes into 24 exactly 6 times. Bring down nothing. 4 goes into 0 zero times. Bring down nothing. 4 goes into 2 zero times with a remainder of 2. The final quotient is 1600 with a remainder of 2.
  • Question
    How do I do 7/74.9?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    That's an example of long division. It's best to remove the decimal point from the divisor (denominator), by moving it one place to the right in both the divisor and the dividend (numerator). The problem then becomes 70 divided by 749 (or 70.00 divided by 749). The answer will be the same as 7 divided by 74.9.
  • Question
    What happens if I divided 485 by 60? What happens if I have a zero in the divisor?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    Nothing happens. The process remains the same, as if (for example) you were dividing by 61 instead of 60.
  • Question
    How do I turn the remainders into decimals?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    Divide the remainder by the divisor. That will give you a decimal that you can add to the whole number of the quotient.
  • Question
    But what if it is 5.1 divided by 4.12345?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    In that case you would use long division. See Do Long Division .
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