Operations and calculations

5. Division

5.1. Short division

Short division is a written method for dividing large numbers by a single digit number, or a two-digit number which is a familiar divisor, such as 12 (if you know your 12 times table).

Let's look at an example.


832 ÷ 8

The number to be divided (the dividend) is placed in a two-sided box, which looks a bit like a bus stop.

The number it is to be divided by (the divisor) sits just to the left.

832 in a bus-stop shaped box, which has a border left and a border top. 8 is written to the left of the box.

Working from left to right, we divide each digit of the dividend by the divisor, placing the answer above the dividend.

8 ÷ 8 = 1, so we place 1 above the 8.

8 can be divided into 8 once - so write 1 above the line

Moving to the right,

3 cannot by divided by 8, so we place a 0 above the 3, and carry 3 (3 x 10) across to the next digit on the right, to make 32.:

0 cannot be divided by 8, so write 0 above the line and add 30, 2 the next digit, making 32.

Now we can try dividing 32 by 8.

32 ÷ 8 = 4, so we write 4 above the 2:

32 divided by 8 is 4, so write 4 above the line.

832 ÷ 8 = 104