Equal Groups and Sharing: Multiply and Divide

About this worksheet

Multiplication counts equal groups. A picture of 4 circles with 6 dots in each shows 4 groups of 6, which is 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24, or 4 × 6 = 24. The first number tells how many groups there are, and the second tells how many are in each group.

Division works the other way, and it can mean two things. Sharing 18 dots equally on 3 plates asks how many go on each plate: 18 ÷ 3 = 6. Circling 18 dots in groups of 3 asks how many groups you can make: 18 ÷ 3 = 6 groups. Each version has three pictures of each kind, so children meet both meanings side by side. Every total shares out exactly, with nothing left over.

For the sharing problems, children can cross off one dot at a time and draw it on the next plate, going around the plates until all the dots are used. In the answer key, each circled group is shown in its own color.

Practice aligned to CCSS 3.OA.A.1 and 3.OA.A.2.

Before this: 2nd grade arrays and repeated addition. Next: unknown factors and fact families, then division facts. More practice: multiplication worksheets, division worksheets and 3rd grade math worksheets.