How do you do long division step by step?

Divide, multiply, subtract, bring down, and repeat for each digit of the dividend. Whatever is left at the end is the remainder.

What do you do when the divisor doesn't go into a digit?

Write 0 in the quotient above that digit (if it isn't the first digit), then bring down the next digit and try again. Leaving out that 0 is a very common mistake.

How do you check a long division answer?

Multiply the quotient by the divisor and add the remainder. You should get back the dividend: 1,242 × 6 + 0 = 7,452.

How do you turn a remainder into a decimal?

Keep dividing: add a decimal point and zeros to the dividend and bring them down one at a time. Or write the remainder over the divisor as a fraction and convert it.

What grade learns long division?

In the US, dividing by one-digit numbers is grade 4 (4.NBT.B.6), two-digit divisors grade 5 (5.NBT.B.6), and fluency with the standard algorithm grade 6 (6.NS.B.2). In England, short division is in Year 5 and long division in Year 6.

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Long division calculator with steps

Type the number you're dividing and the divisor to see the long division written out the way it's taught in school, with every divide, multiply, subtract and bring down step. Choose a remainder or a decimal answer.

Dividend (the number being divided)Divisor

Answer as

1,242

7,452 ÷ 6 = 1,242 remainder 0. Check: 1,242 × 6 + 0 = 7,452

1242

67452

−6

−12

−24

−12

Steps

Bring down digit 1: 7 ÷ 6 = 1 (1 × 6 = 6), 7 − 6 = 1.
Bring down digit 2: 14 ÷ 6 = 2 (2 × 6 = 12), 14 − 12 = 2.
Bring down digit 3: 25 ÷ 6 = 4 (4 × 6 = 24), 25 − 24 = 1.
Bring down digit 4: 12 ÷ 6 = 2 (2 × 6 = 12), 12 − 12 = 0.

The long division steps

Long division repeats the same four steps for each digit, often remembered as Does McDonald's Sell Burgers: Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring down.

Divide: how many times does the divisor go into the part you are looking at?
Multiply: the quotient digit times the divisor.
Subtract: take that away to find what's left. It must be smaller than the divisor.
Bring down: bring the next digit down next to what's left, and start again.
When there are no digits left, what remains is the remainder.

Worked example: 7,452 ÷ 6

6 goes into 7 once, remainder 1. Bring down 4 to make 14: 6 goes into 14 twice (12), remainder 2. Bring down 5 to make 25: 6 goes into 25 four times (24), remainder 1. Bring down 2 to make 12: 6 goes into 12 twice exactly. The answer is 1,242. Check: 1,242 × 6 = 7,452.

Remainders and decimals

When the division doesn't come out exactly, the answer can be given with a remainder, as a decimal or as a fraction. 23 ÷ 4 is 5 remainder 3, which is also 5 3/4 or 5.75. To keep going into decimals, put a decimal point after the dividend, add zeros, and carry on bringing them down.

Use it to check, not to skip the thinking

The best way to use a long division calculator is after trying the question on paper. Compare your working with the steps here line by line. The first line that's different is the mistake to fix: often a subtraction slip, a digit not brought down, or a zero left out of the quotient.

Questions people ask

How do you do long division step by step?: Divide, multiply, subtract, bring down, and repeat for each digit of the dividend. Whatever is left at the end is the remainder.
What do you do when the divisor doesn't go into a digit?: Write 0 in the quotient above that digit (if it isn't the first digit), then bring down the next digit and try again. Leaving out that 0 is a very common mistake.
How do you check a long division answer?: Multiply the quotient by the divisor and add the remainder. You should get back the dividend: 1,242 × 6 + 0 = 7,452.
How do you turn a remainder into a decimal?: Keep dividing: add a decimal point and zeros to the dividend and bring them down one at a time. Or write the remainder over the divisor as a fraction and convert it.
What grade learns long division?: In the US, dividing by one-digit numbers is grade 4 (4.NBT.B.6), two-digit divisors grade 5 (5.NBT.B.6), and fluency with the standard algorithm grade 6 (6.NS.B.2). In England, short division is in Year 5 and long division in Year 6.

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