Division with Remainders
Learn what happens when things don't divide evenly.
🎯 What You'll Learn
You will learn what happens when a number doesn't divide evenly — there's something left over called a remainder.
🏪 Market Story
Chidi has 13 sweets to share among 4 friends. He gives 3 to each friend: 4 × 3 = 12. But he started with 13. There's 1 sweet left over! That leftover is called a remainder. 13 ÷ 4 = 3 remainder 1.
📝 Let's Learn
Sometimes numbers don't divide evenly. The leftover amount is called the remainder.
We write it as: 13 ÷ 4 = 3 r 1 (or "3 remainder 1").
How to find remainders:
- Find the biggest number in the times table that fits. 4 × 3 = 12 fits into 13.
- Subtract: 13 − 12 = 1. The remainder is 1.
Example 1: 14 ÷ 3. 3 × 4 = 12 (fits). 14 − 12 = 2. Answer: 4 r 2.
Example 2: 17 ÷ 5. 5 × 3 = 15 (fits). 17 − 15 = 2. Answer: 3 r 2.
Example 3: 25 ÷ 4. 4 × 6 = 24 (fits). 25 − 24 = 1. Answer: 6 r 1.
Important: The remainder must always be smaller than the number you divide by!
✏️ Practice Questions
- What is 11 ÷ 2?
- What is 20 ÷ 3?
- Bola has 23 groundnuts to share among 5 friends. How many does each friend get, and how many are left over?
Click to see answers
- 11 ÷ 2 = 5 r 1. (2 × 5 = 10, 11 − 10 = 1.)
- 20 ÷ 3 = 6 r 2. (3 × 6 = 18, 20 − 18 = 2.)
- 23 ÷ 5 = 4 r 3. Each friend gets 4, and 3 are left over. (5 × 4 = 20, 23 − 20 = 3.)
💡 Remember
When things don't share evenly, there's a remainder — the leftover amount. The remainder is always less than the number you divide by. In real life, Chidi might eat that leftover sweet himself!