Grade 3 Long Division: What is Division?

Understand division as sharing equally and grouping

What You'll Learn

Understand division as equal sharing
Relate division to multiplication
Recognize division symbols and notation

📖Division is Sharing

Division is about splitting things into equal groups. When you divide 12 cookies among 3 friends, each friend gets 4 cookies. We write this as 12 ÷ 3 = 4.

💡

Think of division as the opposite of multiplication. If 3 × 4 = 12, then 12 ÷ 3 = 4 and 12 ÷ 4 = 3.

Worked examples

Real problems from the practice worksheets, solved one step at a time.

Example 1
6 ÷ 3 = ?
1. Divide 6 into 3 equal groups.
2. Think: 3 × ? = 6
3. 3 × 2 = 6
4. So 6 ÷ 3 = 2
Answer: 2
Example 2
36 ÷ 6 = ?
1. Divide 36 into 6 equal groups.
2. Think: 6 × ? = 36
3. 6 × 6 = 36
4. So 36 ÷ 6 = 6
Answer: 6
Example 3
12 ÷ 4 = ?
1. Divide 12 into 4 equal groups.
2. Think: 4 × ? = 12
3. 4 × 3 = 12
4. So 12 ÷ 4 = 3
Answer: 3