Dividing whole numbers by 10 and 100

In a nutshell

Dividing one or two digit numbers by $10$ or $100$ involves moving place values once or twice to the right respectively. This can be done using a place value table or a decimal point.

Dividing by 10

To divide a number by $10$ , move the digits of the number one place value to the right.

Example 1

Calculate $70 \div 10$ .

Rewrite $70$ in a place value table using zeros as placeholders.

TENS	ONES	$.$	TENTHS	HUNDREDTHS
$7$	$0$	$.$	$0$	$0$

When dividing by $10$ , move the digits one place value to the right.

TENS	ONES	$.$	TENTHS	HUNDREDTHS
	$7$	$.$	$0$	$0$

$\underline{70\div 10 = 7.}$

Note: You do not have to draw a place value table but they are helpful to show the process of dividing by $10$ or $100$ .

Dividing by 100

To divide a number by $100$ , move the digits of the number two place values to the right.

Example 2

Calculate $23 \div 100$ .

Rewrite $23$ with a decimal point using zeros as a placeholder.

$23 = 23.00$

To divide by $100$ , move the digits two place values to the right. This is the same as moving the decimal point two spaces to the left.

$\overset{\curvearrowleft \curvearrowleft}{23}.00 \rightarrow 0.2300 = 0.23$

$\underline{23 \div 100 = 0.23.}$

Note: Zeros at the very end of a number, after the decimal point, are placeholders. They can be removed once you are done with the calculation.