Boba Maths

Year 6 · Arithmetic skills · Skill 6B

Skill 6B: Short division with remainders

Use the bus stop method to divide by a single digit and write the remainder as a fraction.

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Each file is an editable Word document (.docx) with 25 questions in five columns. It opens in Word, Google Docs, Pages and LibreOffice, so you can change questions or add working space before printing.

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Worked examples

When a short division does not come out exactly, there is a remainder. In arithmetic questions it is usually written as a fraction: the remainder over the divisor, in its simplest form.

Example 1

A remainder that simplifies

5,379 ÷ 6

  1. Set out the bus stop with 6 outside and 5,379 inside. Divide one digit at a time, starting on the left.
    896
    65535739
    1. 5 ÷ 6 = 0, remainder 5. Carry 5 to the next digit.
    2. 5 carried over with 3 makes 53. 53 ÷ 6 = 8, remainder 5. Carry 5 to the next digit.
    3. 5 carried over with 7 makes 57. 57 ÷ 6 = 9, remainder 3. Carry 3 to the next digit.
    4. 3 carried over with 9 makes 39. 39 ÷ 6 = 6, remainder 3.
  3. 3 is left over. A remainder of 3 out of 6 makes the fraction 3⁄6. Simplify it by dividing the top and bottom by 3: 1⁄2.
  4. So 5,379 ÷ 6 = 896 1⁄2 (or 896 remainder 3). Check: 896 × 6 + 3 = 5,379.

Answer: 8961⁄2

Example 2

A remainder that does not simplify

7,423 ÷ 4

  1. Set out the bus stop with 4 outside and 7,423 inside. Divide one digit at a time, starting on the left.
    1855
    47342223
    1. 7 ÷ 4 = 1, remainder 3. Carry 3 to the next digit.
    2. 3 carried over with 4 makes 34. 34 ÷ 4 = 8, remainder 2. Carry 2 to the next digit.
    3. 2 carried over with 2 makes 22. 22 ÷ 4 = 5, remainder 2. Carry 2 to the next digit.
    4. 2 carried over with 3 makes 23. 23 ÷ 4 = 5, remainder 3.
  3. 3 is left over. A remainder of 3 out of 4 makes the fraction 3⁄4. It cannot be simplified.
  4. So 7,423 ÷ 4 = 1,855 3⁄4 (or 1,855 remainder 3). Check: 1,855 × 4 + 3 = 7,423.

Answer: 1,8553⁄4

Top tips

  • The last remainder goes over the number you divided by.
  • Simplify the fraction if you can.
  • You can also write the answer with “r”, for example 896 r 3.

Watch out for

  • Writing the remainder over the wrong number.
  • Forgetting to simplify, such as leaving 3 out of 6 instead of 1 out of 2.

Try some questions

These are from the worksheet. Work each one out, then open it to check.

  1. 4,873 ÷ 3 =
    Show the answer

    1,6241⁄3 (or 1,624 r 1)

  2. 9,467 ÷ 8 =
    Show the answer

    1,1833⁄8 (or 1,183 r 3)

  3. 9,410 ÷ 6 =
    Show the answer

    1,5681⁄3 (or 1,568 r 2)

  4. 8,718 ÷ 5 =
    Show the answer

    1,7433⁄5 (or 1,743 r 3)

All arithmetic skills

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Arithmetic skills overview · Year 6 overview