Number and Operations in Base Ten
Division with remainders
Divide by a single digit, and say what is left over when it does not go exactly.
Dividing is sharing into equal groups, and most of the time the groups do not come out even. Forty-seven sweets shared into bags of five fills nine bags and leaves two sweets on the table. Those two are the remainder — not a mistake, and not something to be squashed into the answer. A division question has two answers hiding in it: how many whole groups, and how much is left.
What is left is always smaller than what you divided by
Divide by 5 and the remainder can only be 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4. If you ever end up with 5 or more still sitting there, another whole group could have been made from it — so the number of groups was too small.
Have a play
Twenty-four ones in a row. Count along it in fives and see where you come to a stop.
Tap anywhere on the line.
Worked example
Divide 47 by 5.
Count up in fives: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45.
Stop at the last one that does not go past 47.
Try it together
Now let us pack 53 apples into bags of 8 together.
Fill as many bags as you can, then see what is still in the crate.
1.How many whole eights fit into 53?
Have a go
Have a go on your own: divide 38 by 4. What is left over?
Hint: Find the largest number of fours that fits inside 38 first.
Ready to practice?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.