If 12 sweets are shared equally between 3 people, how many does each get?
Step 1: Let's Learn
Read it, or press Listen and follow the words.
Try it first
Sam has 8 stickers. He shares them equally between 2 friends. How many stickers does each friend get?
stickers
Stuck is fine. Let’s Learn shows the way next. Got it first time? You can jump ahead to Watch an Example.
That question is written 12 ÷ 3.
Division splits a total into equal groups. The symbol is ÷.
The answer has a name too.
Quotient is the answer to a division.
Equal is the whole point
Sharing 12 as 5, 4 and 3 is not division. The shares have to match.
Step 2: Try It Yourself
Tap and try it out.
12 ÷ 3 = 4
12 shares evenly: each of the 3 groups gets 4, and the pen stays empty.
3 × 4 = 12. 3 and 4 are a factor pair of 12.
Pairs you have found
- 3 × 4
Step 3: In Real Life
At a birthday party
There are 24 slices of pizza and 6 children, and everyone gets the same. That is 24 ÷ 6, so 4 slices each. A parent does this sum every time something has to be shared fairly, from candy to turns on the tablet.
Step 4: Watch an Example
One step at a time.
Watch Ana Share 18 Grapes
Ana shares 18 grapes equally between 3 plates.
- Step 1
Ana knows the total, 18. She wants one plate’s share. That is a division.
Watch Leo Share 10 Marbles
Leo shares 10 marbles equally between 2 bags. Leo starts, and you finish.
- Step 1
Leo knows the total, 10, and the shares, 2 bags. He wants one bag’s share.
Step 5: Your Turn
Practice makes it stick.
The Car Wash
Problem 1 of 12
Three children wash a car and earn $21. They share it equally. How much does each child get?
dollars
The Garden
Problem 2 of 12
Noor plants 20 seeds equally in 4 pots. How many seeds go in each pot?
seeds
Share It Out
Say it as shared between. Then find each share.
Problem 3 of 12
80 ÷ 10 = ? That is 80 shared equally between 10.
Problem 4 of 12
In 30 ÷ 10, which number is how many shares?
Problem 5 of 12
Which division sentence matches this picture?
Find the Mistake
One line on each page is a slip. Find it, then fix it.
Problem 6 of 12
Dev shares 20 stickers equally between 10 friends. One line is a slip. Which?
Dev’s answer for: 20 stickers shared between 10 friends
- 120 stickers, 10 friends
- 220 − 10 = 10
- Answer20 ÷ 10 = 10
Problem 7 of 12
What should Dev’s answer be? How many stickers does each friend get?
stickers
Problem 8 of 12
Maya shares 15 apples equally into 3 bags. One line is a slip. Which?
Maya’s answer for: 15 apples shared into 3 bags
- 115 apples, 3 bags
- 26 + 5 + 4 = 15
- Answer15 ÷ 3 = 6
Problem 9 of 12
What should Maya’s answer be? How many apples go in each bag?
apples
Which Way?
Pick the way that fits the story.
Problem 10 of 12
16 balloons are shared equally between 8 children. Which way finds one child’s share?
Problem 11 of 12
Ravi has 3 bags. Each bag holds 8 shells. Which way finds how many shells in all?
Deal Them Out
Set it up, then check.
Problem 12 of 12
Share 28 apples equally between 4 people. Set the total, then the people.
1 ÷ 1 = 1
1 shares evenly: each of the 1 groups gets 1, and the pen stays empty.
Step 6: Quick Check
Show what you know.
Question 1 of 2
24 ÷ 4 = ?
Question 2 of 2
What must be true about the shares?
Ready for more?Optional. Past the lesson, for anyone who wants it.
Stretch 1 of 2
Ana shares her stickers equally between 6 friends. Each friend gets 5. How many stickers did she start with?
stickers
Stretch 2 of 2
Noor has $60. She spends $20 on a cake. She shares the rest equally between 8 friends. How much does each friend get?
dollars
What You Learned
- Division splits a total into equal shares.
- 12 ÷ 3 asks how many are in each of 3 shares.
- The answer is called the quotient.
For the grown-up
This lesson is where the child interprets a quotient as the number in each share when a total is split equally. Multiplication is equal groups before it is a fact to recall. Three fours is three groups of four, and division is the same picture asked from the other end.
Watch for multiplication and division being learned as separate subjects. They are one relationship, and a child who sees that halves what there is to remember.
When they are stuck on a division, ask the multiplication instead: "what times 4 gives 24?" Nearly every child can answer that when they cannot answer 24 divided by 4.
The slip this lesson targets is treating sharing as taking away: 20 shared between 10 read as 20 − 10. Dev's page has that slip; have them deal it out with counters and watch that nothing leaves the table. The other slip is unequal shares: Maya's 6, 5 and 4 uses up 15 but is not 15 ÷ 3. Ask "does every bag hold the same?" before any answer is written. A third to watch for is answering with the number of people instead of the share; "how many does one person get?" usually clears it.
Sharing out fairly — You have 12 pieces of candy and 3 friends. Deal them out one at a time, going round and round, until they run out. Each friend ends up with 4. That is 12 ÷ 3 = 4. Dealing is a real procedure you can carry out with objects, which is why sharing is the first meaning of division children meet.
The other meaning: making groups — There is a second question that also gives 12 ÷ 3. Instead of "12 shared between 3 people", ask "how many groups of 3 can I make from 12?" The answer is again 4. These two questions feel completely different but the same division answers both. Noticing this is a real step forward.
When it does not come out evenly — Share 13 pieces of candy between 3 friends and each gets 4 with one left over. That leftover is called a remainder. Most divisions here come out exactly, but knowing leftovers exist stops you assuming every division is tidy.
Deal them out one at a time — 12 pieces of candy shared between 3 children. Give one to each: three gone, nine left. Again: six gone, six left. Again: nine gone, three left. Again: all gone. Count what one child has. Four. 12 ÷ 3 = 4