In the last lesson, you learned that division is splitting a number into smaller, equal groups.
Another way to think about division is:
Division is repeated subtraction. When you divide, you are subtracting the same number over and over.
Check out this division problem:
20 ÷ 4 = 5
You can write it in long division form like this:
Tip: If you don't remember how to do long division, review the 3rd grade lesson on long division here.
The dividend is the big number that you're subtracting from.
The divisor is how much you subtract each time.
The quotient is the number of times a divisor can be subtracted from the dividend.
The division equation tells us that we can subtract 4 from 20 five times.
Knowing that division is repeated subtraction can help us solve division problems.
84 ÷ 12 = ?
This is like asking:
How many times can we subtract 12 from 84?
We can subtract 12 from 84 seven times.
So we know the quotient is 7.
84 ÷ 12 = 7
Tip: You can also think about division as how many times 12 can fit into 84.
How many times can you subtract 10 from 70?
Let's write this as a division equation:
70 ÷ 10 = ?
In long-division form, it looks like this:
The quotient is the number of times we can subtract 7 from 70, until we have nothing left. 😸
70 ÷ 10 = 7
The quotient is 10. You subtracted 10 from 70 seven times.
Great job comparing division to subtraction.
Now, ace the practice.