Division and word problems — Primary Maths

In this lesson you will learn

Explain division as sharing equally and as making equal groups
Divide with the help of the times tables
Solve word problems in 4 steps and choose the right operation

Grandma baked 12 shekerbura, sweet Azerbaijani pastries, and wants to share them equally among her 3 grandchildren. How many does each child get? Let's share: one for you, one for you, one for you… Each gets 4. That is division!

Sharing equally

Division means splitting a number into equal parts. We write 12 ÷ 3 = 4. The number being divided is the dividend (12), the number we divide by is the divisor (3), and the answer is the quotient (4).

Sharing balloons

Samir shared 24 balloons equally among 4 friends. How many balloons did each friend get?

Show solution

We share equally, so we divide: 24 ÷ 4.
4 times what makes 24? 4 × 6 = 24.
24 ÷ 4 = 6. Each friend got 6 balloons.

Teams

There are 20 children in the yard. They split into teams of 5. How many teams are there?

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Each team has 5 children. How many fives are there in 20? 20 ÷ 5.
5 × 4 = 20, so 20 ÷ 5 = 4.
There are 4 teams.

Division is multiplication backwards

Every multiplication fact gives two division facts. Together they are a fact family: 3 × 4 = 12, 4 × 3 = 12, 12 ÷ 3 = 4, 12 ÷ 4 = 3. To solve 35 ÷ 5, ask yourself: 5 times what makes 35? 5 × 7 = 35, so 35 ÷ 5 = 7.

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Solving word problems

1
Read
Read the problem twice. What do we know?
2
Find the question
What do we need to find? Underline the question.
3
Choose the operation
Putting together → +, taking away → −, equal groups → ×, sharing equally → ÷.
4
Solve and check
Calculate, write the answer in words and check it: does it make sense?

How long will the yoghurts last?

Mum bought 4 packs with 6 yoghurts in each. The family eats 3 yoghurts a day. How many days will the yoghurts last?

Show solution

1) How many yoghurts are there? Equal groups → multiply: 6 × 4 = 24.
2) 3 yoghurts a day → divide: 24 ÷ 3 = 8.
Answer: the yoghurts will last 8 days.
Check: 3 × 8 = 24.

Let's practise

Division practice

1.12 ÷ 3 =
2.35 ÷ 5 =
3.24 ÷ 4 =
4.70 ÷ 10 =
5.56 ÷ 8 =
6.81 ÷ 9 =
7. × 6 = 42
8.36 ÷ 6 =
9.(6 × 4) ÷ 3 =

Key points

Division is sharing equally: 12 ÷ 3 = 4.
Dividend ÷ divisor = quotient.
Division is multiplication backwards: 35 ÷ 5 = 7 because 5 × 7 = 35.
You cannot divide by 0.
Word problems: read → find the question → choose the operation → solve and check.

Check yourself

10 questions. Every correct answer earns XP.

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15 sweets are shared equally among 3 children. How many sweets does each child get?