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How to Do Long Division. No calculator handy? Here's how to divide numbers the old-fashioned
way. You will need and paper and pencil. Step 1. Recognize that when you have long division
problems, you must divide a dividend by a divisor to obtain the answer, called a quotient.
The dividend is the number inside the division box, the divisor is the number on the outside
of the box. Step 2. Decide whether the divisor is small enough to divide the first digit
in the box -- the one farthest to the left. If you are dividing 12 into 86, for example,
note that 12 won't go into eight. Step 3. Place a zero above that first digit on the
top of the division box if the divisor is too large to go into the first digit. Move
one digit to the right and try dividing into that number. Keep doing this until you have
found a number that the divisor can be divided into. In the example, since 12 won't go into
eight, consider the first two digits under the dividend -- or 86. Step 4. Determine how
may times the divisor will go into that that portion of the dividend, and place the quotient
above it, on top of the division box. In the example, 12 will go into 86 seven times, so
place a 7 above the 6 in 86. Write the product of seven and 12 under the dividend in the
box. Since seven times 12 equals 84, write 84. Step 5. Subtract the product from the
divided portion of the dividend and write the result underneath. In the example, you
will place the difference between 86 and 84 -- the number two -- under the number four
in 84. Step 6. Bring down the next number in the dividend and continue the same process
until there are no more numbers to bring down or until the final number is too small to
divide into. If the last number is too small, write it as the remainder. In the example
the remainder is two. Step 7. Clear any leading zeros on the left side of the quotient. Now
check your result by multiplying the quotient by the divisor to see whether you get the
dividend. Did you know The Egyptians performed multiplication and division by doubling and
halving.