Long division

What is long division?


Long division is simply the process of dividing one number by another, written out step by step

It's best shown with an example so, lets divide 875 by 37 ...

First we write out the sum as:


The first question we ask ourself is how many times does 37 go into 8 (the first digit 875) - the answer is zero!
So, we write a zero above the 8 ...


Then, we say, how may times does 37 go into 87 (the first 2 digits of 875) - the answer is 2!
So, we write a 2 above the 7.

Don't worry about the 5 in the 875 number - well be coming back to that later ...



Now, we do some multiplication, we multiply the 2 by the 37 and write the answer underneath...

Now, 2 times 37 equals 74 so, we'll have ...





Now, we subtract the 74 from the 87 above - which equals 13 and we drop the 5 down from the top line ...





We now repeat the process we've just been through, just dividing 135 by 37 instead of 87 by 37.

So, now we work out how many times 37 goes into 135 (which is 3) and write the number at the top above the 5 ...




Now, 37 times 3 is 111 so, to finish off our sum, we write in 111 and subtract 111 from 135 ...

and this is our answer, 875 divided by 37 is 23 remainder 24!

Try and practice long division for yourself - click here!