Short Division Worksheets for the Bus Stop Method

Q: Can you use short division with a 2-digit divisor?

Yes, when pupils know the multiples. Short division by 11 and 12 stays inside the tables to 12 × 12. For bigger divisors, the long layout keeps the working on paper.

Bus stop division with room for the small carried digits, and an answer key that lists them.

Sheet type

Problems

Answer key

12 problems. 3-digit by 1-digit, exact answers. Sheet CS9RLJ, with its answer key.

3-digit by 1-digit, exact answers

Name Date Score / 12

Use short division: write each digit of the answer over the line, and carry what is left to the next digit.

Sheet CS9RLJ · Made at homeroomtools.com

Answer key. 3-digit by 1-digit, exact answers

1.105
2.107
3.114
4.123
5.136
6.113
7.150
8.163
9.155
10.119
11.117
12.139

Sheet CS9RLJ · Made at homeroomtools.com

Next step Drill the tables behind every digit See the full long division layout

How it works

Free short division worksheets for the bus stop method. The page opens on 3-digit by 1-digit, like 852 ÷ 6 = 142; the menu runs from 98 ÷ 7 to 94,716 ÷ 6.

Read the full guide

How short division works

Write the divisor outside the bracket and work from the left, one digit at a time. For 852 ÷ 6, 6s into 8 go once with 2 over. Write 1 on the bar and a small 2 beside the 5. 6s into 25 go 4 times with 1 over, and 6s into 12 go twice. The answer is 142, with nothing written underneath.

The three examples in England's curriculum

England's curriculum prints three worked short divisions: 98 ÷ 7, 432 ÷ 5 and 496 ÷ 11. Each has a sheet here: 2-digit by 1-digit, one carried digit, 3-digit by 1-digit with remainders and Short division by 11 and 12.

First digit too small to divide fixes a misplaced first digit: 252 ÷ 7 is 36, not 360.
Facts with a remainder: the carrying step makes a good starter: every digit of a short division is one.
Zero in the answer catches a common slip: 728 ÷ 7 is 104, and without the 0 it reads 14.

Questions and answers

What is the bus stop method?

Bus stop is a nickname for the division bracket, so the bus stop method is short division. England's curriculum calls it the formal written method of short division and never uses the nickname.

What is the difference between short and long division?

Long division writes each product and subtraction under the dividend. Short division does those in the head and writes only what is left, as a small digit beside the next one. England's curriculum asks for it with a one-digit divisor.

What year do pupils learn short division?

In England, Year 4 for exact answers, Year 5 for up to 4 digits with remainders, and Year 6 for 2-digit divisors where appropriate. US standards do not name it: Common Core 4.NBT.6 sets the same sizes in grade 4 and leaves the method open.

How do you write a remainder in short division?

After the answer: 432 ÷ 5 = 86 R 2. Every remainder sheet asks for that. England's guidance also writes 98 ÷ 4 as 24 r 2, 24 1/2 and 24.5; fraction and decimal sheets are not on this page yet.

Can you use short division with a 2-digit divisor?

Yes, when pupils know the multiples. Short division by 11 and 12 stays inside the tables to 12 × 12. For bigger divisors, the long layout keeps the working on paper.

All 16 sheet types

Facts and first carried digits 4

2-digit by 1-digit, one carried digit 98 ÷ 7 = 14, the first short division example in England's curriculum. 7s into 9 go once with 2 over. The 2 is written small beside the 8 to make 28, and 7s into 28 go 4 times.
Facts with a remainder: the carrying step 43 ÷ 5 = 8 R 3. This is what happens at each digit of a short division: 5s into 43 go 8 times and the 3 is carried. 30 of these across the page make the step quick before the bracket appears.
No carrying: every digit divides exactly 848 ÷ 4 = 212. Each digit of the dividend is a multiple of the divisor, so nothing is carried. Pupils learn one thing only: each answer digit sits on the bar, straight above the digit it came from.
Table facts for each digit, ÷ 2 to ÷ 9 40 division facts written across the page, such as 63 ÷ 9 = 7. Short division has no working space, so every step is a table fact done in the head. Pupils who are slow on this sheet will be slow on all the others.

Show all 16 sheet types (12 more)

Exact answers 5

3-digit by 1-digit, exact answers 852 ÷ 6 = 142. 6s into 8 go once, carry 2. 6s into 25 go 4 times, carry 1. 6s into 12 go twice. The page opens on this sheet. England's Year 4 guidance asks for short division with exact answers.
4-digit by 1-digit, exact answers 9,264 ÷ 8 = 1,158 with carried digits 1, 4 and 6. This is the size England's Year 5 requirement names: numbers up to 4 digits divided by a one-digit number using the formal written method of short division.
First digit too small to divide 252 ÷ 7 = 36. 7s into 2 will not go, so the 2 is carried to make 25, and the answer starts above the 5, not above the 2. Lining it up that way keeps 36 from turning into 360.
Zero in the answer 728 ÷ 7 = 104. 7s into 7 go once. 7s into 2 will not go, so a 0 goes on the bar and the 2 is carried to make 28. Leave the 0 out and the answer reads 14.
Zeros in the number being divided 6,030 ÷ 5 = 1,206. 5s into 6 go once, carry 1. 5s into 10 go twice. 5s into 3 will not go, so write 0 and carry the 3. 5s into 30 go 6 times. A 0 in the dividend still needs a digit above it.

Remainders, fractions and decimals 4

3-digit by 1-digit with remainders 432 ÷ 5 = 86 R 2, the second example in England's curriculum. 5s into 43 go 8 times, carry 3. 5s into 32 go 6 times with 2 left, and the remainder is written after the answer on the bar.
4-digit by 1-digit with remainders 8,309 ÷ 6 = 1,384 R 5 with carried digits 2, 5 and 2. A remainder must be smaller than the divisor, so a pupil who writes R 6 or more here has a last answer digit that is too small.
Carry on past the decimal point 950 ÷ 4 = 237.5. After the 7 there is 2 left over. Write a decimal point and a 0 after the dividend, carry the 2 to make 20, and 4s into 20 go 5 times. Every answer on this sheet ends within 2 decimal places.
Remainder stories: round up, round down or left over 250 eggs go into boxes of 6: 250 ÷ 6 = 41 R 4, so 41 boxes are full and 4 eggs are left. England's Year 5 requirement asks pupils to interpret remainders for the context. The key gives each answer with the division behind it.

Bigger divisors and longer numbers 3

5-digit and 6-digit numbers by 1-digit 94,716 ÷ 6 = 15,786 with carried digits 3, 4, 5 and 3. Short division handles a number of any length in one line: each new digit adds one step, not three lines of working.
Decimals by 1-digit numbers 17.36 ÷ 4 = 4.34. The decimal point goes on the bar straight above the point in the dividend, and the carrying is the same as for 1,736 ÷ 4 = 434. Money and measures are where pupils meet these.
Short division by 11 and 12 496 ÷ 11 = 45 R 1, the third example in England's curriculum, which gives the answer as 45 1/11. 11s into 49 go 4 times, carry 5, and 11s into 56 go 5 times with 1 left. Knowing the tables to 12 is what makes this possible.

How this list was compiled: The sheet types, remainder stories and worked sums were written for this page, except 98 ÷ 7, 432 ÷ 5 and 496 ÷ 11, the three short division examples in England's national curriculum. The year-by-year wording was checked on 2026-09-19 against the national curriculum in England, mathematics programmes of study (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7da548ed915d2ac884cb07/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics_220714.pdf, Open Government Licence). The method was checked the same day against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_division and the name bus stop against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_division. US number sizes were checked against the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/ccssmathstandardaug2013.pdf) and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Mathematics (https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/ch111a.pdf); neither names short division. Licence: own work