Division Word Problems (Grade 4)
Division word problems ask students to read a real-life situation and determine that division is the correct operation. In Class 4, these problems involve dividing 2-digit and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers.
Division word problems fall into two main categories: equal sharing (how many in each group?) and equal grouping (how many groups?).
What is Division Word Problems (Grade 4) - Class 4 Maths (Division (Grade 4))?
A division word problem describes a situation where a total quantity is split into equal parts. Clue words that signal division include:
- "equally" — shared equally among 5 friends
- "each" — how many does each person get?
- "per" — cost per item, distance per day
- "divide" or "split"
- "groups of" or "rows of"
Types and Properties
Types of division word problems:
- Equal sharing: A total is shared equally. Find how many each person gets. Example: 72 sweets shared among 9 children.
- Equal grouping: A total is arranged into groups of a fixed size. Find how many groups. Example: 72 sweets packed into bags of 9.
- With remainder: Division is not exact. Interpret the remainder. Example: 50 students in buses that hold 8 each.
- Multi-step: Combine multiplication/addition with division. Example: Find total first, then divide.
- Comparison: One quantity is a fraction of another. Example: Aman has 3 times as many as Dev. Find Dev's share.
Solved Examples
Example 1: Example 1: Equal Sharing
Problem: Aditi has 168 beads. She divides them equally among 7 friends. How many beads does each friend get?
Solution:
Total beads = 168, Friends = 7
168 ÷ 7 = 24
Answer: Each friend gets 24 beads.
Example 2: Example 2: Equal Grouping
Problem: A baker bakes 240 biscuits. He packs 8 biscuits in each box. How many boxes does he need?
Solution:
Total biscuits = 240, Biscuits per box = 8
240 ÷ 8 = 30
Answer: The baker needs 30 boxes.
Example 3: Example 3: Remainder with Rounding Up
Problem: 125 students go on a field trip. Each van carries 9 students. How many vans are needed?
Solution:
125 ÷ 9 = 13 remainder 8
13 vans carry 117 students. The remaining 8 students need one more van.
Answer: 14 vans are needed.
Example 4: Example 4: Money Problem
Problem: Rahul earns ₹456 in 3 days. If he earns the same amount each day, how much does he earn per day?
Solution:
Total earnings = ₹456, Days = 3
456 ÷ 3 = 152
Answer: Rahul earns ₹152 per day.
Example 5: Example 5: Remainder Is the Answer
Problem: Meera has ₹100. She buys as many pens as she can at ₹7 each. How much money is left?
Solution:
100 ÷ 7 = 14 remainder 2 (7 × 14 = 98; 100 − 98 = 2)
She buys 14 pens. The question asks how much is LEFT.
Answer: ₹2 is left.
Example 6: Example 6: Weight Problem
Problem: A bag of rice weighs 750 grams. It is divided into 5 equal packets. What is the weight of each packet?
Solution:
750 ÷ 5 = 150
Answer: Each packet weighs 150 grams.
Example 7: Example 7: Multi-Step Problem
Problem: Priya buys 4 boxes of chocolates. Each box has 36 chocolates. She distributes all chocolates equally among 8 friends. How many does each friend get?
Solution:
Step 1: Total chocolates = 4 × 36 = 144
Step 2: 144 ÷ 8 = 18
Answer: Each friend gets 18 chocolates.
Example 8: Example 8: Comparison (Finding the Smaller Quantity)
Problem: Arjun has 84 cricket cards. He has 4 times as many cards as Kavi. How many cards does Kavi have?
Solution:
Arjun's cards = 4 × Kavi's cards
Kavi's cards = 84 ÷ 4 = 21
Answer: Kavi has 21 cricket cards.
Example 9: Example 9: Time Problem
Problem: Dev reads 252 pages of a book in 7 days, reading the same number of pages each day. How many pages does he read per day?
Solution:
252 ÷ 7 = 36
Answer: Dev reads 36 pages per day.
Example 10: Example 10: Arranging in Rows
Problem: 180 chairs are arranged in rows with 6 chairs in each row. How many rows are there?
Solution:
180 ÷ 6 = 30
Answer: There are 30 rows.
Real-World Applications
Division word problems appear in many daily scenarios:
- Cooking: Dividing a recipe among portions.
- Shopping: Finding the cost per item or how many items you can buy.
- School: Distributing supplies, arranging seats.
- Travel: Finding how many trips are needed to transport items.
Key Points to Remember
- Look for clue words: equally, each, per, divide, split, share, groups of.
- Decide whether the problem asks how many in each group (sharing) or how many groups (grouping).
- When there is a remainder, decide based on the context:
- Leftover items → state the remainder
- Everyone must be included → add 1 to the quotient (round up)
- How much is left → the remainder is the answer
- In multi-step problems, solve the first operation (often multiplication or addition) before dividing.
- Always write the unit in your answer (₹, km, kg, pieces, etc.).
Practice Problems
- Aman has 216 stamps. He puts 9 stamps on each page. How many pages does he fill?
- A school has 350 students. They form teams of 5 for a sports day. How many teams are formed?
- Neha earns ₹504 in 6 days. How much does she earn per day?
- 72 chapatis are divided equally among 8 children. How many does each child get?
- Dev has 145 marbles. He puts them in bags of 6. How many full bags and how many marbles are left?
- A farmer has 420 saplings. He plants them in 7 equal rows. How many saplings are in each row?
- Priya collects 3 boxes of 48 pencils each. She divides them equally among 9 students. How many does each student get?
- 85 people need to cross a river by boat. Each boat carries 6 people. How many boat trips are needed?
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How do I know a word problem needs division and not multiplication?
Division is used when you split a total into equal parts or find how many groups you can make. Multiplication is used when you combine equal groups into a total. If you know the total and want to find each part, divide.
Q2. What do I do with the remainder in a word problem?
It depends on the context. If sharing items, the remainder is left over. If needing to fit everyone (buses, boats), round up the quotient. If the question asks 'how much is left', the remainder itself is the answer.
Q3. How do I solve a multi-step division word problem?
Read the problem carefully. Often you need to multiply or add first to find the total, then divide. Solve one step at a time.
Q4. What does 'times as many' mean in a division problem?
If A has 4 times as many as B, and you know A's quantity, divide by 4 to find B. For example, Ria has 60 stickers, which is 5 times what Dev has. Dev has 60 ÷ 5 = 12 stickers.
Q5. Should I always write the unit in my answer?
Yes. Units such as ₹, km, kg, litres, or 'stickers' make the answer meaningful. Without units, the answer is incomplete.
Q6. Can a division word problem have no remainder?
Yes. Many problems divide exactly. For example, 240 biscuits in boxes of 8 gives exactly 30 boxes with 0 remainder.
Q7. How do I estimate before solving?
Round the dividend to a number that divides easily. For example, to estimate 347 ÷ 5, round 347 to 350. Then 350 ÷ 5 = 70. The exact answer should be close to 70.
Q8. Are division word problems in the NCERT Class 4 textbook?
Yes. NCERT Class 4 Maths includes many word problems on division involving sharing, grouping, money, measurement, and multi-step situations.
Related Topics
- Division With Remainder (Grade 4)
- Multiplication Word Problems (Grade 4)
- Long Division
- Division of 2-Digit by 1-Digit
- Division of 3-Digit by 1-Digit
- Divisibility Rules for 2, 5 and 10
- Divisibility Rules for 3 and 9
- Division by 10 and 100
- Estimating Quotients
- Checking Division (Dividend = Divisor × Quotient + Remainder)
