Don’t Miscount the Decimal Places
Like with multiplying decimals, your answer (quotient) is determined by decimal point placement. Let’s look at different problems showing where the decimal point should be placed.
When Only the Dividend is a Decimal
If the decimal point is in front of the whole dividend, then go ahead and place a decimal point in your quotient first because you know for sure all the digits in the quotient will be to the right of the decimal place.
If the decimal point is not in front of the whole dividend, then it can get a little tricky. The key is to determine if the dividend’s digits to the left of the decimal point can be divided wholly by the divisor. If so, then the decimal point in the quotient will have to scoot to the right also.
Let’s look at the second example on Liesel’s chalkboard. Since the divisor is smaller than the first number in the dividend, we know the divisor can fit wholly into that digit in the dividend. In this case, 2 goes into 6 three times. Place a 3 in the quotient before placing your decimal point.
Note the green zero in the second example. To avoid having a remainder, you can add a zero to the dividend to bring down so that you can continue working the problem to a more precise quotient.
…but what about the decimal that never ends?
Yes, it is possible that a quotient can go on and on, my friend. This is when you use your rounding skills. Sometimes the problem will specifically ask for you to round to a certain place value, but if it doesn’t, rounding to the third or fourth place after the decimal point is acceptable.
Never a bad idea to check your work!
When There is a Decimal in the Divisor
You want to move that decimal place to the right until the divisor becomes a whole number. How ever many spaces you move in the divisor though, you must do the same for the dividend even if it is already a whole number. Since there isn’t a decimal point in the dividend, just add zeros. You will add as many zeros in the dividend as you moved decimal places in the divisor.
Yikes! A Decimal in Both the Divisor and Dividend
Have no fear! Treat it like the last example where the decimal was only in the divisor. In the divisor, move the decimal point to the right until the divisor is a whole number and, in the dividend, move the decimal point the same number spaces that you moved it in the divisor. That might mean that there is still a decimal in the dividend, but that’s okay. Now the problem is like the first examples above.
