How_To_Be_Good_At_Math

and Dividing by 10, 100,

Dividing by 10, 100,

and 1000

Dividing by 10 is simple: you just shift the digits one place to

the right on a place-value grid. By shifting the digits further

to the right, you can also divide by 100 and 1000.

Each digit shifts

three places right

Each digit

shifts two places

to the right

Each digit

shifts one place

to the right

We can divide a

number by 10, 100,

or 1000 just by

changing the place

value of its digits.

Dividing by 100

Now let’s try dividing 6452 by 100.

When we divide by 100, each digit

becomes 100 times smaller. To show this,

we move each digit two places to the right.

So, 6452 ÷ 100 = 64.52

Dividing by 10

To test this method, let’s divide 6452

by 10. When we divide by 10, each digit

becomes 10 times smaller. To show this,

we move each digit one place to the right.

This shows that 6452 ÷ 10 = 645.2

Dividing by 1000

Lastly, we’ll divide 6452 by 1000. When

we divide by 1000, each digit becomes 1000

times smaller. To show this, we move each

digit three places to the right. This means

6452 ÷ 1000 = 6.452

Factory work

Can you use the “shift to the

right” method to find the

answers to these questions?

TRY IT OUT

Answers on page 319

A factory owner shares £182 540 among 1000

workers. How much does each worker get?

The factory made 455 700 cars this year.

That’s 100 times more cars than it made

50 years ago. How many cars did it make then?

645 .2

64 .5 2

6 .452

Th H T O

Th H T O

Th H T O

1

10

1

10

1

100

1

10

1001 1

1000

136-137_Dividing_by_10_100_1000.indd 136 29/02/2016 18:03