Dividing a Decimal by a Whole Number

0:00A rope 9.6 metres long is cut into 4 equal pieces.

0:05How long is each piece?

0:09To find out, we divide 9.6 by 4, using long division.

0:14First, put the decimal point in the answer straight above the one in 9.6.

0:21Now divide as usual: how many times does 4 go into 9?

0:25It goes 2 times, because 4 times 2 is 8 and 4 times 3 is too big.

0:32Subtract 8 from 9, and 1 is left.

0:37Bring down the 6 to make 16.

0:404 goes into 16 exactly 4 times, so write 4 on top.

0:4616 minus 16 is 0, so nothing is left over.

0:52So 9.6 divided by 4 is 2.4.

0:57To check, 9.6 is about 10, and 10 divided by 4 is 2.5, which is close.

1:05So each piece of rope is 2.4 metres long.

1:10To divide a decimal by a whole number, put the point straight above, then divide as usual.