How do you do divide 42 by 3? How can you do division on these two numbers and then check you’ve got the right answer?
Division helps to answer how many times a number fits into another number and if there is anything remaining.
Therefore, division involves two numbers to start: the divisor and the dividend. When you ask a division question like: what is 42 divided by 3 the first number is the dividend and the second number is the divisor .
Whereas if you ask: how many times does 3 divide into 42 the first number is the divisor and the second number is the dividend .
Knowing what number is what is very important when working with division problems. Once you have identified what number is the dividend and what number is the divisor you can begin to calculate the answer.
With the divisor 3 and the dividend 42 I’ll use the short division method to obtain the answer. Here’s how the short division technique works.
Short Division Method
Short division is a process where the divisor is divided into each number of the dividend and the resulting quotient is placed above and, if one exists, the remainder carried over. Short division is generally done where the divisor is a small number (less than 10) and the dividend is a number 10 times or more of the divisor.
So with the divisor 3 being less than 10, and the dividend 42 being more than 30 this technique is a good approach in obtaining the answer.
The reason why this technique is called short division is because the method is shorter in getting to an answer than the popular long division method.
Short Division Format
Performing short or long division helps when you start with a structure that looks like a tipped over capital ‘L’. This format helps to place your four elements. Remember that division starts with just two numbers: the divisor and the dividend, and these two numbers will go here in the tipped over ‘L’ division structure:
| divisor | dividend |
As you arrive at a solution your answer will then have a quotient and, if one exists, a remainder, and these elements will end up here when you get them:
| quotient | remainder | |
| divisor | dividend |
(If there is a remainder it is usually prefixed with the letter ‘r’ to help show that this number is the r emainder portion of your answer and is different from the quotient.)
So, what is 42 divided by 3? Let’s go through it step by step.
Division Of 3 Into 42
Here is the step by step process of performing division for 3 into 42:
Step through each individual number in the dividend.
How many times does 3 go into 4?
|
3
|
4
|
2 |
4 ÷ 3 = 1
As it goes 1 time write this number directly above the dividend number 4.
|
1
|
|||
| 3 | 4 | 2 |
Carry the remainder of 1 over to the next dividend number, like so:
| 1 | |||
| 3 | 4 |
1
2
|
Move to the next dividend number and divide the divisor into this number.
How many times does 3 go into 12?
| 1 | |||
|
3
|
4 |
1
2
|
12 ÷ 3 = 4
As it goes 4 times write this number directly above the dividend number 12.
| 1 |
4
|
||
| 3 | 4 | 1 2 |
Move to the next dividend number and divide the divisor into this number.
Therefore, at the end of the whole process the division of 3 into 42 produces the quotient of 14.
Check Your Answer
To check you answer simply multiply the divisor 3 by the quotient 14:
3 × 14 = 42
Your answer should match the dividend 42.
Summary
Division is the process of finding out how many times one number goes into another. It requires you to know which number is the divisor and which number is the dividend. When you’ve identified the divisor and the dividend you can then calculate the quotient and see if there’s any remainder.
When doing the division of 3 into 42 the quotient will be 14.
You can check your answer by multiplying the quotient by the divisor and then adding the remainder to the end result – this should equal your dividend.