Long Division Calculator

Q: How do you do long division step by step?

Repeat four steps: Divide (how many times does the divisor go in?), Multiply (quotient digit × divisor), Subtract, and Bring down the next digit. Stop when no digits are left; what remains is the remainder.

Q: How do I check a long division answer?

Multiply the quotient by the divisor and add the remainder — you must get the dividend back. 120 × 7 + 5 = 845. The calculator always shows this check.

Q: What do I do when the divisor is a decimal?

Move the decimal point in both numbers the same number of places to the right until the divisor is a whole number. 4.68 ÷ 0.4 becomes 46.8 ÷ 4.

Q: How do I continue long division into decimals?

Write a decimal point after the whole-number part of the quotient, add a zero to the remainder (bring down 0) and keep dividing. Choose the number of decimal places in the calculator.

Q: Can the remainder be bigger than the divisor?

No. If it is, the quotient digit was too small — the divisor still fits at least once more. The remainder is always 0 or more and less than the divisor.

Enter the dividend and the divisor to see the long division written out exactly as in your notebook — quotient on top, each subtraction underneath and every digit brought down. Get the quotient and remainder, or keep dividing to as many decimal places as you need. Decimal divisors are handled by moving the decimal point first, and every answer ends with the check quotient × divisor + remainder = dividend.

Dividend

Divisor

Answer

Quotient

120

Remainder

Check: 120 × 7 + 5 = 845 ✓

Long division layout

1207)8457−1414−050−5

Step-by-step solution

Take 8. 8 ÷ 7 = 1 (1 × 7 = 7); 8 − 7 = 1
Bring down 4 → 14. 14 ÷ 7 = 2 (2 × 7 = 14); 14 − 14 = 0
Bring down 5 → 5. 5 ÷ 7 = 0 (0 × 7 = 0); 5 − 0 = 5
Quotient = 120, remainder = 5 (845 ÷ 7 = 120 R 5)
Check: quotient × divisor + remainder = dividend → 120 × 7 + 5 = 845 ✓

How to use the long division calculator

Type the dividend (the number being divided), e.g. 845 or 72.5.
Type the divisor (the number you divide by), e.g. 7 or 2.5.
Choose “Remainder” to stop at the whole-number quotient, or the number of decimal places to keep dividing.
Follow the layout from top to bottom: divide, multiply, subtract, bring down — then read the check line.

Formulas

Division algorithm	`Dividend = Divisor × Quotient + Remainder` 0 ≤ remainder < divisor
Four steps, repeated	`Divide → Multiply → Subtract → Bring down`
Decimal divisor	`7.5 ÷ 2.5 = 75 ÷ 25` multiply both numbers by 10, 100, … until the divisor is whole
Decimals in the quotient	`put the point above the point, then bring down zeros`

Solved examples

Example 1: Divide 845 by 7.

8 ÷ 7 = 1, 8 − 7 = 1; bring down 4 → 14
14 ÷ 7 = 2, 14 − 14 = 0; bring down 5 → 5
5 ÷ 7 = 0, remainder 5
Check: 120 × 7 + 5 = 845

Answer: Quotient 120, remainder 5

Example 2: Divide 72.5 by 4 to 2 decimal places.

7 ÷ 4 = 1 r 3; 32 ÷ 4 = 8 r 0
Point: 5 ÷ 4 = 1 r 1; bring down 0 → 10 ÷ 4 = 2 r 2

Answer: 18.12 (remainder 0.02)

Example 3: Divide 7.5 by 2.5.

Make the divisor whole: × 10 → 75 ÷ 25
75 ÷ 25 = 3

Answer: 3

Divide, multiply, subtract, bring down

Long division breaks a big division into many small ones. Start from the left: take the first digit (or the first two, if the first is smaller than the divisor) and ask how many times the divisor goes into it. Write that digit in the quotient, multiply it by the divisor, subtract, and bring down the next digit. Repeat until all digits are used. Whatever is left is the remainder — it must always be smaller than the divisor.

If the number after bringing down is still smaller than the divisor, write 0 in the quotient and bring down the next digit too. Forgetting this zero is the most common mistake (845 ÷ 7 is 120, not 12).

Going past the decimal point

To keep dividing instead of stopping with a remainder, put a decimal point after the quotient (straight above the dividend’s point) and bring down zeros. Some divisions stop (1 ÷ 8 = 0.125); others repeat for ever (1 ÷ 3 = 0.333…) — the Decimal to Fraction Calculator shows the repeating part.

Frequently asked questions

How do you do long division step by step?