Dividing whole numbers

Dividing whole numbers is the opposite of multiplying whole numbers. It is the process by which we try to find out how many times a number (divisor) is contained in another number (dividend).

The answer in the division problem is called a quotient.In the division problem below( 63 ÷ 7) , 7 is contained into 63, 9 times. (9 × 7 = 63)

Other examples:

When the dividend is bigger than 100, the answer may not be obvious. In this case you need to do long division. Study the following example (462 ÷ 3) carefully.



It is not easy to see immediately how many times 3 is contained into 462. It may not be easy also to see how many times 3 is contained into 46. However, it is fairly easy to see that 3 is contained into 4 once.

Therefore, we do this in step 1 and put the 1 above the 4.

In step 2, we multiply 1 by 3 and subtract the answer(3) from 4.

In step 3, we bring down the 62. Now, we need to find out how many times 3 is contained in 162. Still, it may not be obvious, so we will try to find out instead how many times 3 is contained into 16.

This is done in step 4 and we see that 3 is contained into 16, 5 times. We put the 5 above the 4.

In step 5 , we multiply 5 by 3 and subtract the answer (15) from 16.

In step 6 , we bring down the 2.

In step 7 , we try to find out how many times 3 is contained into 12.

3 × 4 = 12, so 3 is contained into 12, 4 times.

Finally, we put the 4 above the 6.

The answer is 154. or 3 is contained into 462, 154 times

The same division can be done faster if you can find out how many times 3 is contained into 45. 45 contains 3, 15 times. Then, you can finish the problem in 4 steps