Write the number inside the bus stop and the divisor outside. Divide each digit from left to right. If a digit doesn't share exactly, write how many fit above it and carry the remainder to the next digit, where it becomes tens of that digit. If the divisor doesn't fit, write 0. Whatever is left at the end is the remainder. In a story, decide what the remainder means.
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Equal groups
3 × 4 = 12
12 ÷ 3 = 4
The same picture shows multiplication and division. Each group must have the same number.
Words to know
- divisor
- the number you divide by
- quotient
- the answer to a division
- remainder
- the amount left over when a number doesn't divide exactly
Worked examples
72 ÷ 4 = ?
- 1.7 ÷ 4 = 1 r 3. Carry the 3 to make 32.
- 2.32 ÷ 4 = 8.
= 18
624 ÷ 3 = ?
- 1.6 ÷ 3 = 2.
- 2.2 ÷ 3 won't go: write 0, carry 2 to make 24.
- 3.24 ÷ 3 = 8.
= 208
157 ÷ 4 = ? Give the answer with its remainder.
- 1.1 ÷ 4 won't go, so carry 1 to make 15.
- 2.15 ÷ 4 = 3 r 3. Carry 3 to make 37.
- 3.37 ÷ 4 = 9 r 1.
= 39 r 1
For parents
Method: Bus stop method
What to say: How many times does it go? What is left over? Where does the remainder go next?
Common mistakes:
- Divides each digit but throws away the remainder instead of carrying it to the next digit.
- Carries a remainder as ones (adds it to the next digit) instead of as tens.
- Leaves out a zero in the answer when the divisor does not go into a digit.
- Divides the first digit (or first part) and stops, without carrying on through the rest of the number.
- Works out the quotient and leaves off the remainder.
- Writes the remainder after a decimal point, as if it were tenths.
- Does not think about what the remainder means in the story: drops it when one more is needed, or adds one more when the leftover can't make a whole one.
- Answers a story question with a quotient and remainder instead of a whole number that fits the story.
- Gives the remainder as the answer to the story question.