Short division using written methods - KS2 Maths resources for Year 4

Short division

When you are doing division, it's helpful to use a written method.

This can be especially useful if the numbers get too big to calculate in your head.

If the number you are dividing by (this is called the divisor) is a single digit number, you can use a method called short division.

Complete this interactive activity to learn about short division. Then put your knowledge to the test.

Sometimes division calculations involve numbers that are too big for you to calculate mentally. In these situations you need to use a written method.

If you are dividing a number by a single digit, you can use short division.

Here's how you can use short division to work out 345 ÷ 3.

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With short division, always begin with the highest value digit. Here it's the hundreds.
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In this example, when you divide the tens, there are some left over. Anything left over, moves to the next column to the right.
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In this example, the left over ten moved into the ones column, to make 15. The final answer is 115.