Dividing by Tens, Hundreds and Thousands
Learn to divide by tens, hundreds and thousands such as 20, 60, 400 and 4,000: divide by 10, 100 or 1,000 first, then by one digit.
1. Dividing by Tens (20, 30, 60...)
The Strategy
To divide by 20, 30, 40, etc., break it into two steps:
- First divide by 10
- Then divide by the digit (2, 3, 4, etc.)
Example: Divide 860 by 20
20 is the same as 10 × 2
860 ÷ 20 = 860 ÷ 10 ÷ 2
= 86 ÷ 2
= 43
More Examples:
8,040 ÷ 60 = 8,040 ÷ 10 ÷ 6 = 804 ÷ 6 = 134
2,800 ÷ 50 = 2,800 ÷ 10 ÷ 5 = 280 ÷ 5 = 56
2. Dividing by Hundreds and Thousands (400, 600, 4,000...)
The Strategy
Same idea! To divide by 400, 600, 4,000, etc., break it into two steps:
- First divide by 100 (for thousands, by 1,000)
- Then divide by the digit (4, 6, etc.)
Example: Divide 27,200 by 400
400 is the same as 100 × 4
27,200 ÷ 400 = 27,200 ÷ 100 ÷ 4
= 272 ÷ 4
= 68
Example: Divide 188,400 by 600
188,400 ÷ 600 = 188,400 ÷ 100 ÷ 6
= 1,884 ÷ 6
= 314
Example: Divide 92,000 by 4,000
4,000 is the same as 1,000 × 4
92,000 ÷ 4,000 = 92,000 ÷ 1,000 ÷ 4
= 92 ÷ 4
= 23
3. Division is the Inverse of Multiplication!
Check Your Work!
You can always check your division answer by multiplying back:
If 860 ÷ 20 = 43, then 43 × 20 = 860 ✓
If 27,200 ÷ 400 = 68, then 68 × 400 = 27,200 ✓
If 188,400 ÷ 600 = 314, then 314 × 600 = 188,400 ✓
If 92,000 ÷ 4,000 = 23, then 23 × 4,000 = 92,000 ✓
4. Alternative Method
You can divide by 10 first or by 6 first
60 is 10 × 6. For 8,040 ÷ 60, the two divisions can be done in either order:
8,040 ÷ 60 = 8,040 ÷ 10 ÷ 6 = 804 ÷ 6 = 134
Or: 8,040 ÷ 60 = 8,040 ÷ 6 ÷ 10 = 1,340 ÷ 10 = 134
Both ways give the same answer!
Practice Problems
1. Divide by Tens:
a) 720 ÷ 20 = ?
b) 1,500 ÷ 30 = ?
c) 4,200 ÷ 60 = ?
d) 3,500 ÷ 70 = ?
ShowHide solutions
a) 720 ÷ 20 = 72 ÷ 2 = 36
b) 1,500 ÷ 30 = 150 ÷ 3 = 50
c) 4,200 ÷ 60 = 420 ÷ 6 = 70
d) 3,500 ÷ 70 = 350 ÷ 7 = 50
2. Divide by Hundreds and Thousands:
a) 8,000 ÷ 200 = ?
b) 15,000 ÷ 300 = ?
c) 24,000 ÷ 400 = ?
d) 54,000 ÷ 600 = ?
e) 36,000 ÷ 4,000 = ?
ShowHide solutions
a) 8,000 ÷ 200 = 80 ÷ 2 = 40
b) 15,000 ÷ 300 = 150 ÷ 3 = 50
c) 24,000 ÷ 400 = 240 ÷ 4 = 60
d) 54,000 ÷ 600 = 540 ÷ 6 = 90
e) 36,000 ÷ 4,000 = 36 ÷ 4 = 9
Key Takeaways
- ÷ 20 = ÷ 10 ÷ 2 (remove one zero, then divide by 2)
- ÷ 60 = ÷ 10 ÷ 6 (remove one zero, then divide by 6)
- ÷ 400 = ÷ 100 ÷ 4 (remove two zeros, then divide by 4)
- ÷ 600 = ÷ 100 ÷ 6 (remove two zeros, then divide by 6)
- ÷ 4,000 = ÷ 1,000 ÷ 4 (remove three zeros, then divide by 4)
- Division is the inverse of multiplication - check your work by multiplying back!