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# 4.11: Decimal Quotients Using Zero Placeholders

Difficulty Level: At Grade Created by: CK-12
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Practice Decimal Quotients Using Zero Placeholders

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Remember how Mrs. Andersen had to give out change in the last Concept? Well, she isn't finished yet. Take a look.

When Mrs. Andersen got back to the bus, she found that the museum clerk had given her an additional 11 dollars in change. This 11 dollars would need to be distributed between the students. Since 22 students went on the trip, Mrs. Andersen would need to give some change to everyone.

"It's a good thing that she gave me a lot of change," Mrs. Andersen thought to herself.

How much of the 11 dollars should each of the 22 students receive?

You have been learning how to divide decimals. Now you are going to learn how to divide decimals when you need zero placeholders.

This Concept will teach you all that you need to know. Then you will be able to help Mrs. Anderson divide up the money.

### Guidance

In our last Concept, you learned to divide a decimal by a whole number. Remember here that the divisor is the whole number which goes outside of the division box and the dividend is the decimal that goes inside of the division box.

The problems in the last Concept were evenly divisible by their divisors. This means that at the end there wasn’t a remainder.

How do we divide decimals by whole numbers when there is a remainder?

14.9 ÷\begin{align*}\div\end{align*} 5 =\begin{align*}=\end{align*} ______

The first thing that we can do is to set up this problem in a division box. The five is the divisor and the 14.9 is the dividend.

5)14.9¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯\begin{align*}5 \overline{)14.9 \;}\end{align*}

Next we start our division. Five goes into fourteen twice, with four left over. Then we bring down the 9. Five goes into 49, 9 times with four left over. Before you learned about decimals, that 4 would just be a remainder.

5)14.9¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ r 42.9   10  49  45   4\begin{align*}& \overset{2.9 \ \ } { \ 5 \overline{ ) {14.9}} \ {r \ 4} \;}\\ & \underline{- \ 10 \ \; \;}\\ & \quad \ 49\\ & \ \underline{- \ 45 \; \;}\\ & \quad \ \ \ 4 \end{align*}

However, when we work with decimals, we don’t want to have a remainder. We can use a zero as a placeholder.

Here, we can add a zero to the dividend and then see if we can finish the division. We add a zero and combine that with the four so we have 40. Five divides into forty eight times. Here is what that would look like.

\begin{align*}& \overset{ \quad 2.98}{5 \overline{ ) {14.90 \;}}}\\ & \underline{-10 \ \ }\\ & \quad \ 49\\ & \ \ \underline{-45 \ }\\ & \qquad 40 \\ & \ \ \ \ \underline{-40 \ }\\ & \qquad \ \ 0 \end{align*}

When working with decimals, you always want to add zeros as placeholders so that you can be sure that the decimal is as accurate as it can be. Remember that a decimal shows a part of a whole. We can make that part as specific as necessary.

Try a few of these on your own. Be sure to add zero placeholders as needed.

#### Example A

13.95 \begin{align*}\div\end{align*} 6 \begin{align*}=\end{align*} _____

Solution: 2.325

#### Example B

2.5 \begin{align*}\div\end{align*} 2 \begin{align*}=\end{align*} _____

Solution: 1.25

#### Example C

1.66 \begin{align*}\div\end{align*} 4 \begin{align*}=\end{align*} _____

Solution: .415

Now that you know how to work with zero placeholders, let's go back to Mrs. Andersen and the change. Here is the original problem once again.

When Mrs. Andersen got back to the bus, she found that the museum clerk had given her an additional 11 dollars in change. This 11 dollars would need to be distributed between the students. Since 22 students went on the trip, Mrs. Andersen would need to give some change to everyone.

"It's a good thing that she gave me a lot of change," Mrs. Andersen thought to herself.

How much of the 11 dollars should each of the 22 students receive?

To figure this out, we must first set up the math problem.

11 \begin{align*}\div\end{align*} 22 \begin{align*}=\end{align*}_____

Now we divide 11 by 22.

\begin{align*}22 \overline{)11 \;}\end{align*}

\begin{align*}& \overset{ \quad .50}{22 \overline{ ) {11.00 \;}}}\\\end{align*}

You can see that we had to add a decimal point and two zeros.

Each student will receive .50 change.

### Vocabulary

Here are the vocabulary words in this Concept.

Divide
to split up into groups evenly.
Divisor
a number that is doing the dividing. It is found outside of the division box.
Dividend
the number that is being divided. It is found inside the division box.
Quotient
the answer to a division problem

### Guided Practice

Here is one for you to try on your own.

Divide the following numbers.

\begin{align*}3 \div 8\end{align*}

To divide 3 by 8, we have to add a decimal point and a zero right away. Here is how we can rewrite the problem.

\begin{align*}3.0 \div 8\end{align*}

Now we can divide. We'll need to add two more zeros.

### Video Review

Here are videos for review.

### Practice

Directions: Divide each decimal by each whole number. Add zero placeholders when necessary.

1. \begin{align*}5 \overline{)17.5 \;}\end{align*}
2. \begin{align*}8 \overline{)20.8 \;}\end{align*}
3. \begin{align*}4 \overline{)12.8 \;}\end{align*}
4. \begin{align*}2 \overline{)11.2 \;}\end{align*}
5. \begin{align*}4 \overline{)14.4 \;}\end{align*}
6. \begin{align*}5 \overline{)27.5 \;}\end{align*}
7. \begin{align*}6 \overline{)13.8 \;}\end{align*}
8. \begin{align*}7 \overline{)16.8 \;}\end{align*}
9. \begin{align*}7 \overline{)23.1 \;}\end{align*}
10. \begin{align*}6 \overline{)54.6 \;}\end{align*}
11. \begin{align*}8 \overline{)41.6 \;}\end{align*}
12. \begin{align*}9 \overline{)86.4 \;}\end{align*}
13. \begin{align*}10 \overline{)52 \;}\end{align*}
14. \begin{align*}10 \overline{)67 \;}\end{align*}
15. \begin{align*}11 \overline{)57.2 \;}\end{align*}
16. \begin{align*}10 \overline{)96 \;}\end{align*}
17. \begin{align*}8 \overline{)75.2 \;}\end{align*}
18. \begin{align*}9 \overline{)32.4 \;}\end{align*}
19. \begin{align*}12 \overline{)38.4 \;}\end{align*}
20. \begin{align*}12 \overline{)78 \;}\end{align*}

### Notes/Highlights Having trouble? Report an issue.

Color Highlighted Text Notes

### Vocabulary Language: English

Divide

To divide is split evenly into groups. The result of a division operation is a quotient.

Dividend

In a division problem, the dividend is the number or expression that is being divided.

divisor

In a division problem, the divisor is the number or expression that is being divided into the dividend. For example: In the expression $152 \div 6$, 6 is the divisor and 152 is the dividend.

Quotient

The quotient is the result after two amounts have been divided.

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