You have 12 sweets and 4 friends to share them with fairly. How many does each friend get? Dividing means splitting into equal groups: 12 divided by 4 = 3 sweets each.
Why this matters: Sharing fairly is kind and honest. Division helps you split treats between siblings, put things into equal groups, and check nobody gets more than their fair share.
Two ways to think about dividing
Sharing: 15 sweets shared between 3 children. Deal them out one at a time until they are gone: 5 each.
Grouping: 15 sweets put into groups of 3. How many groups can you make? 5 groups.
Division and times tables are best friends
If you know 4 x 5 = 20, then you also know 20 divided by 5 = 4 and 20 divided by 4 = 5. They undo each other.
| Multiply | Divide back |
|---|---|
| 6 x 3 = 18 | 18 divided by 3 = 6 |
| 8 x 5 = 40 | 40 divided by 5 = 8 |
Dividing a 2-digit number
48 divided by 4: think "how many 4s in 48?" 40 divided by 4 = 10, and 8 divided by 4 = 2, so 10 + 2 = 12
Remainders
Sometimes the number does not share out evenly and a little is left over. We call it the remainder.
13 divided by 4: four 3s make 12, with 1 left over. So the answer is 3 remainder 1.