How To Write The Remainder As A Whole Number

Simple math concepts often include quite a bit of math terminology. For example, when you are completing division problems, the number you are dividing by is the divisor. The dividend is the number that is being divided by the divisor, and the quotient is your answer. Your quotient will not always be a nice, round number. Sometimes, you will have a remainder left over. To complete a division problem correctly, write your remainder as a whole number.

Step 1

Write the dividend on your page. Remember, this is the number that is being divided by the divisor.

Step 2

Add a division sign, sometimes called a division box, around the dividend. This sign includes a line on top of the dividend and another line to the left of it that is curved slightly inward.

Step 3

Place the divisor outside the division sign on the left side. For example, assume you are dividing 24 by 5. 24 is the dividend, and it would go under the division sign. 5 is the divisor, and it would go to the left of the division sign.

Step 4

Count how many times 5 can go into 24. In this case, the answer is 4 because 5 multiplied by 4 is 20. Write the number 4 on top of the division sign, above the dividend, 24.

Step 5

Multiply 4 by 5, which equals 20. Write that answer below the dividend.

Step 6

Subtract 20 from 24, the dividend, to get an answer of 4. Because 5 cannot go into 4 any number of times, 4 is the whole-number remainder for the division problem.