When you do division, you end up with either a remainder, or you end up with the final result being a decimal. Ultimately, the decimal is the remainder divided by the divisor. So 7 / 2 is 3 with a remainder of 1, and you can divide 1 by 2 to get one half or 0.5, which you then add to the original 3. So 7 / 2 = 6/2 + 1/2, which is 3 + 0.5, or 3.5

In a division with remainders, the remainder will always be smaller than the divisor. If it is bigger, an error has been made as this means another ‘group’ could be made out of that remainder. For example, take 14 ÷ 3. There are 4 groups of 3 in 14 with 2 left over – this is expressed as 4 r2.

Sometimes when dividing there is something left over. It is called the remainder. Example: There are 7 bones to share with 2 pups. But 7 cannot be divided exactly into 2 groups, so each pup gets 3 bones, and there is 1 left over: We say: "7 divided by 2 equals 3 with a remainder of 1"

One way is to divide with a remainder, meaning that the division problem is carried out such that the quotient is an integer, and the leftover number is a remainder. For example, 9 cannot be evenly divided by 4. Instead, knowing that 8 ÷ 4 = 2, this can be used to determine that 9 ÷ 4 = 2 R1.

Dividend = Divisor x Quotient + Remainder Therefore, Remainder = Dividend – (Divisor x Quotient) This is the formula for the remainder.