Long Division Practice
Practise long division — the step-by-step method for dividing larger numbers, one digit at a time.
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How to do long division
Long division feels like the hardest method in elementary math, but it is really just one short cycle repeated. Many teachers remember it as Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring down — do that for each digit, left to right, and the answer builds itself.
- Divide: how many times does the divisor go into the current digit(s)?
- Multiply: that quotient digit times the divisor.
- Subtract: take it away to find what is left.
- Bring down the next digit, and repeat.
(The practice here uses divisions that come out evenly, so you can focus on the method without remainders getting in the way.)
Worked examples
Tips & common mistakes
Keep each step in its own column so the digits line up — messy long division is wrong long division. Estimating first tells you roughly how big the answer should be: 742 ÷ 7 is about 700 ÷ 7 = 100, so 106 looks right.
- Forgetting to write a 0 in the quotient when the divisor does not go into a digit.
- Bringing down the wrong digit or skipping one.
- Subtraction slips inside the cycle — the most common source of a wrong answer.
Frequently asked questions
What does “Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring down” mean?
It is the repeating four-step cycle of long division. You run it once per digit of the answer, working left to right.
What grade is long division?
Dividing by one digit is a grade 4 skill; dividing by two digits comes in grade 5.
Why do answers here come out evenly?
So your child can focus on the steps of the method. Remainders are practised separately on the division-with-remainders page.
How can we check a long-division answer?
Multiply the quotient by the divisor — you should get back the original number (the dividend).
My child keeps getting it wrong — where?
Most often it is a subtraction slip inside the cycle, or forgetting a 0 in the quotient. Slowing the cycle down usually fixes both.