Math Drill Pages

3rd Grade Division Word Problems

Eight division stories for third graders, all within 100 and all with whole-number answers. The sheet mixes the two kinds of division students meet in grade 3: sharing equally ("how many in each?") and making groups ("how many groups?").

Grade
Grade 3
Problems
8
Time
About 15 minutes
Standard
3.OA.A.3
Download PDF (US Letter) Download PDF (A4)

Two pages: the worksheet, then the answer key. No sign-up needed.

Worksheet preview

Word problems Solve. Draw a picture or write an equation.

  1. A ribbon is 45 inches long. It is cut into pieces that are each 9 inches long. How many pieces are there?

    5

  2. 20 students are split into 10 equal teams. How many students are on each team?

    2

  3. Lena has 50 beads. She uses 5 beads for each bracelet. How many bracelets can she make?

    10

  4. 16 children ride to the zoo in vans. Each van holds 8 children. How many vans do they fill?

    2

  5. Sam has 40 stickers and puts 5 on each page of his album. How many pages does he fill?

    8

  6. 56 muffins are packed into boxes of 8. How many boxes are there?

    7

  7. There are 24 eggs. Each carton holds 6 eggs. How many cartons can be filled?

    4

  8. Mr. Diaz puts 36 books equally on 6 shelves. How many books are on each shelf?

    6

Tips for teachers and parents

  • Before solving, ask: do we know the number of groups, or the size of each group? That tells you which kind of division the story is.
  • Students can solve each problem by thinking of the matching multiplication fact. For 48 ÷ 6, ask "6 times what is 48?"
  • Drawing circles for the groups and sharing dots into them works well for the "shared equally" stories.
  • Have students check each answer by multiplying it back: the answer times the divisor should give the starting number.

Common mistakes

  • Dividing the smaller number by the larger one, for example writing 8 ÷ 72. The total being shared always comes first.
  • Multiplying because the story mentions "each". Ask whether the total is given (divide) or needs to be found (multiply).

What to practice next

When these feel easy, try the 4th grade multi-step word problems, which combine division with addition or subtraction.

Frequently asked questions

What types of division word problems are on this worksheet?

Equal sharing problems, where the number of groups is known, and grouping problems, where the size of each group is known. Both appear on every sheet.

Are there any remainders?

No. Every problem divides evenly, matching the grade 3 standard. Remainders come in grade 4.

Is there an answer key?

Yes, page 2 has the answers to all 8 problems.