Strategies for division
When we work on division, it helps to remember that division is the reverse of multiplication. We are not working out how many we have altogether, this time we know our total. We are working out how many groups of items we have.
Some of the ways we can approach division include:
-
repeated subtraction (which is like repeated addition to solve multiplication, in reverse)
- half, and half again (which is the same as dividing by $4$4)
- splitting our total into smaller parts, and
- using arrays and thearea method.
In Video 1, we'll work through some of these methods, while dividing by a single digit number.
Larger numbers
Working with larger numbers can seem tricky, but there are ways to solve these division problems, it may just take a few more steps. Let's look at how we can break down a number such as $7285$7285, so that we can divide it by $5$5. Then we look at a four digit number, and see how we might break it into smaller parts, to solve a division problem.
Division is like the reverse of multiplication, so many of the ideas we can use for solving multiplication can help us solve division problems.
Worked Examples
Question 1
Find the value of $40\div4$40÷4.
Question 2
We're going to break $7130$7130 into $6000+1000+120+10$6000+1000+120+10 to calculate $7130\div2$7130÷2.
Follow these steps.
Calculate $6000\div2$6000÷2.
Calculate $1000\div2$1000÷2.
Calculate $120\div2$120÷2.
Calculate $10\div2$10÷2.
Using the fact that $7130=6000+1000+120+10$7130=6000+1000+120+10, calculate $7130\div2$7130÷2.
Question 3
Calculate $769\div3$769÷3 by doing the following.
Calculate $600\div3$600÷3.
Calculate $150\div3$150÷3.
Calculate $18\div3$18÷3.
Using the fact that $769=600+150+18+1$769=600+150+18+1, fill in the boxes with the missing numbers.
$3$3 goes into seven hundred and sixty nine $\editable{}$ times with a remainder of $\editable{}$