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How to Divide

How to Divide
Dividing is a skill of life. Ever since you learned it from school, you have been using it up to now.

But some people were never taught how to divide. This Instructable will teach you how to divide like how most people learned it in grade school, using "long division."
 
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Step 1Things You'll Need

Things You\
First of all, there are three different "methods" that I will being teaching to you. To learn all the methods you will need a pencil and lots of paper. You may also want a calculator to double-check your answer.
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46 comments
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Jan 29, 2012. 9:28 AMcarz says:
thank u i couldnt do it and now i can have my test friday let u know how i get on yhank u
Jan 21, 2012. 6:56 PMtayia anne says:
i dont understand step 4 with decimal
Dec 27, 2011. 4:25 PMElizabeth.Killz says:
Thank you too who ever made this article.
I'm in 8th grade and i forgot how too divide once i got in a car accident . .
Well this has really helped me lots
Aug 18, 2011. 1:28 PMnachos#1 says:
lol in my problem the number outside the square thingy is larger than the number in the square thingy... 7 wouldn't fit into 8!
Jul 28, 2011. 7:25 AMafigueroa4 says:
Also I think you forgot to say (Or did I read over this?) what to do if the divisor is bigger than the first number of the dividend. Eg. 27 Divided by 9.
Jul 27, 2011. 4:10 AMSyndikos says:
With all due respect to the author, I think he/she has overlooked the fact that if you do not know how to divide, then even the answer of "1" in the simple step of
"8 divided by 7 = 1" is NOT self-explanatory. (Step 2, #4) That could be why people are googling "how to divide" in the first place, because the concept escapes them.

To simplify the expression of plain division into "layman's logic" (this assumes you know how to add, subtract, and multiply):
- For 8 divided by 7, place 8 inside the box, 7 outside
-Ask yourself: How many 7's can fit in an 8?
-OR ask: What number multiplied by 7 gets me the closest to 8, or equal to 8?
-The answer to both questions is 1. Then you can move on to the next steps :)

Now that we have that out, there is an alternative way to deal with the decimal example in Step 4 (Dividing with Decimals): (Hopefully this provide more clarity on how to arrive at the ".75")


1) Given the author's example in Step 4 (127 divided by 4),

2) Do as told, UNTIL you get to Step 8 where it states "Subtract 7 and 4 to get 3"

3) Now, instead of Step 9 where you create "3.0", just drop down a 0 so "3" becomes "30". Indicate this by adding the decimal after 31 just like in the original tutorial such that your quotient (the number on top of the bar) reads "31."

4) Continue long division, by asking yourself:
-I have 4 outside the box
-I have 30 inside the box
-What number multiplied by 4 equals a number that is closest to 30, or equal to 30? (Trial and error, or memorization) The answer is 7

5) 4 x 7 = 28. Place "7" after "31." so the quotient now reads "31.7"

6) 7 x 4 = 28, which I place under 30

7) 30 minus 28 = 2

8) 2 is less than 4 (your divisor), so again, drop a 0 (no need to add another decimal to indicate this after you've done it the first time)

9) Now you have 4 outside the box, and 20 inside

10) What number multiplied by 4 is closest to 20, or equal to 20?

11) 5, because 4 x 5 = 20!

12) You add "5" after "31.7" and have the answer: "31.75" :)

I've attached a sketch (only the last 3 or 4 steps are different) from the tutorial

Hope this helps!
Jun 17, 2011. 9:31 PMjing1994 says:
LOL.... it take me a minutes before i got ".75.....
Sep 22, 2010. 5:38 PMZeroXL91 says:
Thanks, in 7th grade and forgot how to divide, but managed to skim through skool till' now, thanks again!
Nov 9, 2010. 6:18 PMvideomaker123 says:
me tooo i forgot and i cant find out howw?!!!
Jan 28, 2009. 8:05 PMSteamdnt says:
Chuck Norris can divide by zero!
Sep 27, 2010. 2:43 PMshirlytemplewithcherryspleez says:
lol
Sep 27, 2010. 2:42 PMshirlytemplewithcherryspleez says:
o also hoo no how 2 divide 8 into 40?
Sep 27, 2010. 2:41 PMshirlytemplewithcherryspleez says:
this didnt help me!can any1 pleez help a lil better cuz i still haz no idea!!!=P
Sep 3, 2010. 9:23 AMIrisg. says:
This helped a lot, gonna keep practicing all day on this website till my test tmrmw :) Lincoln tech here I come.
Mar 9, 2010. 6:42 PMstoob says:
oops 17.36 divided by 0.01 PLZ I NEED HELP
Mar 9, 2010. 6:41 PMstoob says:
i had a test to day and i was stuck on a question. it was 0,01 divide by 17.36 (Something like that) and im not sure if i what to do with the zeros like if i should do 001-173 or if i can just drop the zeros and do 1-1
Jan 12, 2009. 7:19 PMtrs4290 says:
I have a question on the long divison with decimal when you divide the 3.0 and 4 to get 7.5 how exactly do you get the 7.5 im not to sure how to divide the 3.0 into the 4?
Jan 26, 2009. 11:03 AMdiciple says:
how do i divide 136 by 8.5
Feb 11, 2010. 2:30 PMgod of combat says:
its 16
Feb 11, 2010. 2:29 PMgod of combat says:
(removed by author or community request)
Feb 11, 2010. 2:29 PMgod of combat says:
Dec 27, 2009. 5:18 PMshostakovich says:
thanks, have a nice day :-)
Sep 10, 2009. 12:12 AMkarissa_brett says:
it was very interesting. Now i know how to divide. Thanks a lot.
Aug 14, 2009. 11:33 AMSabrizzle says:
'
Hey thanks a lot!! You really helped me out!!
May 13, 2009. 10:03 PMhoneybfli1 says:
i dont understand step 4 the one with the decimal.
May 12, 2009. 12:58 PMMzOreO says:
I am with "4290 & disciple" I don't understand the decimal one either
Sep 23, 2008. 1:48 PMcopycatfilms says:
Can you please (Kiteman this could be your chance!) add how to divide by a 2 or even three digit number? Is there a trick to this? I'm 31 years old and I find myself using trial and error to say divide 3000 by 84 if I don't have a calculator. I swear I missed the day they taught it in 3rd grade and have been kicking myself for it since!!
Jan 26, 2009. 4:49 PMpiepieburger says:
That is sad
Jan 20, 2009. 11:21 PMData says:
In step 3 you might want to point out that one can put the remainder over the divisor to get the remainder in a fractional form. In your case 10/3 = 3 1/3 as opposed to 3 r 1.
Jan 20, 2009. 10:10 PMwalkr says:
in step 2 you say the numbers to divide and multiply by, but fail to point them out visually. when you say divide by or multiply by x and there is two of that number in the equation, i don't know which one you are referring too.
Nov 5, 2008. 7:12 PMrankin says:
very helpful how did u get 75 in step 4
Nov 27, 2008. 6:08 AMPKM says:
You can use the fact that you know 3/4 as a decimal is 0.75, but you can actually continue the process exactly as you were doing it before- in that example:
4 goes into 3 no times, so carry down a zero. 4 goes into 30 7 times, 7*4 is 28 so 2 left over, carry a zero down and 4 goes into 20 exactly 5 times with no remainder, hence .75.

  _31.754|127.00  12   07    4    3 0    2 8      20      20       0

Try dividing 10 by 7 and continue the process down until you see a pattern emerging.
Oct 9, 2008. 10:39 AMrose28 says:
i always have hard time doing my math. and i have exam today,afternoon. i know how to divide and all that but. the thing is i forgot all things easy.
but i went to Google and type "how to divide" and i click your website.
it helped me... t.y
i will be visiting your website when i need help and when i have free time to teach my self...t.y so much .
Sep 22, 2008. 1:05 PM=SMART= says:
c a l c u l a t o r l o l
Oct 5, 2008. 7:43 AMcantthinkof bettername says:
You could make an instructable that tells how to divide with a calculator.
Sep 22, 2008. 11:33 AMKiteman says:
Ha, you rat - you beat me to the exact same ible! Good job, though.
Sep 23, 2008. 4:34 PMPlasmana says:
Are you going to make "How to divide" Instructable?
Sep 24, 2008. 9:40 AMKiteman says:
Not now - it was going to be extremely similar to this one, not different enough to be worth the effort. I'll let you have the glory on this one.
Sep 24, 2008. 2:37 PMPlasmana says:
Okay...
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Author:TechnoGeek95
I enjoy tinkering with technology, (cell phones, iPods, computers, etc.) but mostly computers. I got my first computer at the age of five. I have been playing with them ever since. I have experienc...
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