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Common Core Math5th GradeNumbers in Base Ten

5.NBT.6: Divide by Two-Digit Divisors

Also written as 5.NBT.B.6 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.6 · Cluster: Perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers and with decimals to hundredths.

Make a 5.NBT.6 WorksheetAll 26 5th Grade Math Standards

The Official Wording

Find whole-number quotients of whole numbers with up to four-digit dividends and two-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 5, Number & Operations in Base Ten · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What 5.NBT.6 Means in Plain English

Fifth graders divide 1,587 ÷ 23 in chunks: 23 × 60 = 1,380 leaves 207, and 23 × 9 = 207 finishes it, so the quotient is 69. They show the thinking with equations or an area model, a rectangle 23 wide split into 60 and 9.

The standard algorithm for long division is not required until 6th grade (6.NS.2). This year is about place value: knowing 23 × 60 is 1,380 because 23 × 6 is 138, and seeing division as the reverse of multiplication (5.NBT.5). The same reasoning drives decimal division in 5.NBT.7.

5.NBT.6 I Can Statements

  • I can divide a four-digit number by a two-digit number.
  • I can use multiples of 10 of the divisor to divide in chunks.
  • I can show my division with equations or an area model.

5.NBT.6 Worked Example

A four-digit dividend and a two-digit divisor, taken apart in chunks of the divisor, with the area model that shows why the chunks add up.

Problem

Divide 1,587 ÷ 23. Show the thinking with equations and an area model.

1,587 ÷ 23 with partial quotients
  1. Ask how many 23s fit. Use a friendly multiple: 23 × 10 = 230, so 23 × 100 = 2,300 is too big. Try tens.23 × 50 = 1,150, 23 × 60 = 1,380, 23 × 70 = 1,610 (too big)
  2. Take 60 groups of 23 out of 1,587 and see what is left.1,587 − 1,380 = 207
  3. How many 23s in 207? 23 × 9 = 207 exactly, so 9 more groups.207 − 207 = 0
  4. Add the partial quotients: 60 groups and 9 groups.60 + 9 = 69, so 1,587 ÷ 23 = 69
  5. As an area model: a rectangle 23 tall, split into a 60-wide piece (area 1,380) and a 9-wide piece (area 207). Total width 69, total area 1,587.23 × 60 + 23 × 9 = 23 × 69 = 1,587
Answer69

Check it: Multiply back: 23 × 69 = 23 × 70 − 23 = 1,610 − 23 = 1,587. A quick estimate agrees too: 1,400 ÷ 20 is 70, close to 69.

Common Mistakes with 5.NBT.6

Guessing too small and never finishing

1,587 ÷ 23: take out 23 × 10 six times and 23 × 1 nine times, then lose track of the count

Try this: List the divisor’s multiples of 10 first (230, 460, 690, up to 1,380) so the first chunk is as large as it can be.

Subtracting the wrong amount

1,587 − 60 = 1,527 after deciding on 60 groups

Try this: Write the chunk as a multiplication equation before subtracting: 23 × 60 = 1,380, and 1,380 is what leaves the dividend, not 60.

Leaving a remainder bigger than the divisor

2,950 ÷ 34 = 85 R 60

Try this: Compare every remainder with the divisor. 60 is more than 34, so another 34 fits: 86 R 26.

Where 5.NBT.6 Fits

Comes Before4.NBT.6Divide up to four-digit numbers by one-digit divisors, with remainders.4.NBT.5Multiply with area models and partial products.
Alongside5.NBT.5Multiply multi-digit numbers with the standard algorithm.5.NF.3Read a fraction as division, like 3/4 = 3 ÷ 4.
Comes Next5.NBT.7Divide decimals to hundredths with place-value strategies.6.NS.2Fluently divide multi-digit numbers with the standard algorithm.

Practice 5.NBT.6

Division Worksheet GeneratorFree ToolLong division with two-digit divisors and up to four-digit dividends, with or without remainders, and an answer key.2-digit divisors4-digit dividendsAnswer key
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Word Problem GeneratorFree ToolDivision story problems at the 5th grade level, for the “illustrate and explain” half of the standard.DivisionGrade 5Remainders
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Quick Check

  1. 1,872 ÷ 24
  2. 3,416 ÷ 56
  3. A school has 1,250 pencils to pack into boxes of 36. How many full boxes, and how many pencils are left over?

5.NBT.6: Other Names

5.NBT.65.NBT.B.6CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.6

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.