|
I was recently trying to figure out how many points per game a local basketball player was averaging. When I got out a pencil and paper and began to divide 359 (total points) by 17 (total games), a friend looking over my shoulder just shook his head and said, “Don’t you have a calculator?” I did, but I decided to rebel against technology for the moment and do the long division math, something many kids today avoid as long as a calculator is around. Long division is actually very simple to do. It just takes a little bit of thinking and patience, two qualities that aren’t bad to exercise every now and then.
Let’s try 359 divided by 17. Another way to word it would be, “How many times does 17 go into 359?”
Begin by taking the number 17 and each digit in 359 one at a time. Obviously, 17 does not go into 3 (the first digit of 359), so we now look at the first two digits together (which is 35). 17 will go into 35 two times (17 + 17 = 34) with a remainder of one. This tells us our answer will be twenty-something.
That remainder of one is now put in front of the nine (third digit in 359). We know 17 will go into 19 one time with a remainder of two. So 359 divided by 17 is 21 with a remainder of two. This means the exact answer is 21 and 2/17. For simplicity, you can round “down, ” which means the answer is 21. If the answer were 21 and 9/17, you could round “up,” making your answer 22.
Note that when doing long division, if your remainder is more than the number you are dividing with, then the number you are dividing with can go into the number you are dividing more times. For example, if you thought 17 went into 35 one time, your remainder would be 18. Since 18 is more than 17, you know that 17 actually goes into 35 twice.
Let’s try another one. 4869 divided by 9. We know 9 cannot go into 4, but it can go into 48 five times (9 x 5 = 45). That leaves us with a remainder of 3, which we put in front of the next digit (6). How many times can 9 go into 36? Four times, with a remainder of zero. So we now have the first two digits of the answer (54). Since the remainder was zero, Our last digit stands by itself, which is 9. Nine goes into nine one time, so our answer to 4869 divided by 9 is 541.
To check your answer, you can multiply the answer you got (541) and multiply it by the number you were dividing with (9). Your answer should come out to the number being divided (4869).
Long division can be just that...long. And if you have a calculator, it’s certainly quicker, and mistakes are less likely. But if you want to rev-up your brain a bit, try a little long division. It will dull your pencil, but keep your brain sharp.
|
| |
