Skill: Use grouping to solve simple division situations

Division by grouping asks:

How many equal groups of a known size can we make?

Example

There are 12 apples. Put 3 apples in each group. How many groups can you make?

Write the division sentence:

$$12 \div 3$$

This means: How many groups of 3 are in 12?

Make groups by taking away 3 each time:

• Start with 12 apples.
• Take away 3: $12 - 3 = 9$ — 1 group
• Take away 3: $9 - 3 = 6$ — 2 groups
• Take away 3: $6 - 3 = 3$ — 3 groups
• Take away 3: $3 - 3 = 0$ — 4 groups

So,

$$12 \div 3 = 4$$

There are 4 groups of 3 in 12.

You can check with multiplication:

$$4 \times 3 = 12$$

So, the answer is 4 groups.