Homeschool math, Grade 5, dividing by a 2-digit number

Why does my child leave the zero out of long division answers?

For example: 6324 ÷ 31 = 24

The right answer is 204. Your kid wrote 24 because one step in the middle did not divide, and they skipped it instead of writing a 0. Lots of kids do this. It's fixable, and you can start tonight. In LOOP we call it "Skipped a zero in the answer."

Your kid isn't being careless. They know how to divide. They just didn't notice that a step with nothing to write still needs a 0. Without it, the digits slide over and the answer is far too small.

What they wrote6324 ÷ 3124
The right answer6324 ÷ 31204
Here is what happened. 31 goes into 63 two times, so they wrote 2. They brought down the 2 to make 12. But 31 does not go into 12, so the answer gets a 0 there. They skipped it. Next they brought down the 4 to make 124, and 31 goes into 124 four times. So they wrote 2, then 4, which is 24.

Here is the right way. 63 ÷ 31 is 2, and 63 − 62 leaves 1. Bring down the 2 to make 12. 31 goes into 12 zero times, so write 0. Bring down the 4 to make 124. 31 × 4 = 124, so write 4. The answer is 204.

Is it this, or something else?

Before you fix anything, look at what they actually wrote.

24Skipped a zero in the answer. This is the page you're on.
20Stopped before the last digit. They never brought down the 4, so the answer ends one step early.
214Their method is fine; one step slipped. Check the multiplying and subtracting in each step to find which one.

One wrong answer might just be a slip. If the same thing shows up again and again, it isn't. The sheet below will show you whether this is a pattern.

Free printable: 12 problems

Two of these (problems 4 and 9, 4256 ÷ 28 and 7084 ÷ 44) have no zero in the answer, so they are your check. If those two come back right and the other ten are all missing a zero, this is probably the mistake. Check the key below for the exact wrong answers.

It prints on its own page.

Answer key

1. 204, 2. 109, 3. 707, 4. 152, 5. 107, 6. 208, 7. 103, 8. 104, 9. 161, 10. 202, 11. 203, 12. 604.

A child making this mistake will write 24, 19, 77, 17, 28, 13, 14, 22, 23, 64 for problems 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12. Every one is missing a digit, so it is much smaller than the true answer. Problems 4 and 9 stay correct.

Long division, 2-digit divisors
Name ____________Date ________Divide. Use a pencil.
1.316324
2.181962
3.128484
4.284256
5.333531
6.193952
7.212163
8.535512
9.447084
10.244848
11.163248
12.148456
looplearning.org

What to do this week

  1. Day 1: Use one problem, 6324 ÷ 31, and a sheet of paper with lines. Have your kid write the answer with one digit per column, lined up over the dividend. Ask them to point to each digit they brought down and say the number of times 31 goes in. When they reach 12, pause. Don't tell them about the 0. Ask, "Does 31 go into 12?" Once they say no, ask what goes on the answer line over the 2.
  2. Day 2: Same kind of problems, now on the sheet. Before each step, have them say out loud: "Does it go in? If not, write a 0." In 6324 ÷ 31, after bringing down the 2, does 31 go into 12? No, so write 0.
  3. Day 3: Do the printable again and count how many are still missing a zero. If most of the ten are right now, you're good. If they're still getting the same wrong answer, do Day 1 again.

LOOP does this for every page. Your kid does a printed page in pencil. You take a photo. LOOP tells you which mistake showed up on each problem and prints the next page. Your kid works on paper the whole time.

See LOOP for homeschool families

Tyler Judson, LOOP co-founder. Before LOOP I tutored math, one kid at a time. LOOP is my try at giving every kid that kind of attention without a tutor in the room.

The mistake names are the ones LOOP uses for Grade 5 dividing by a 2-digit number. The examples were checked by running LOOP's mistake-finder.