Divide by 3

Twelve cookies need to be shared equally among three friends. How many cookies does each friend get?

We can write this as a division problem: twelve divided by three.

Let's make three equal groups, one for each friend.

We deal out the cookies one at a time until all twelve are gone.

Now count how many cookies ended up in each group — four in every group.

Notice that three groups of four is the same as the multiplication fact three times four equals twelve.

So twelve divided by three equals four.

Each friend gets four cookies. Division and multiplication are opposites, so you can always check a division fact with its matching multiplication fact.