Division Game

The Division Game teaches the divisions from the times tables through equal sharing. You are at Grandma Saniye's stall in the neighbourhood market; the question "42 ÷ 7 = ?" asks how many pieces of fruit go in each crate if 42 are shared equally into 7 crates. Division is the Sharing mode of the Times Tables game: your progress, your Market notebook and your score are shared with the main game.

This guide covers choosing tables, the Share out hint, stars, what happens after a wrong answer, spaced repetition and the quickest way to work out a division.

When the game opens, you choose which tables the divisions come from: each number from 2 to 10 is a button (up to 12 if Tables up to 12 is switched on in Settings); All selects every table and Clear empties your choice. The numbers you pick are the divisors: pick 7 and you get the divisions 7, 14, 21 ... 70 ÷ 7. Your choice is remembered the next time you play.

A round has 10 questions. 6 right first time earns 1 star, 8 right earns 2 stars and 10 right earns 3 stars. Time does not affect the stars; a fast, correct answer brings extra money into the till and a golden sparkle.

When a question appears, there are as many empty crates on screen as the divisor: 7 empty crates for 42 ÷ 7. You type the answer with the number keys; it is checked automatically once enough digits are typed, or you can press the confirm key.

If you get stuck, press the Share out button: the fruit is shared equally into the crates, and the crates light up one by one as they are counted. The number of pieces of fruit in each crate is the answer. The hint is free and part of learning, but an answer given with the hint does not count as fast.

A wrong answer does not cost a life, and there is no penalty. The right answer is written, the fruit is shown being shared into the crates, then the game says "Now you type it" and you enter the right answer yourself. The same division comes back once more two or three questions later. At the end of the round, you see the divisions you have just learned and the tricky ones that will come back soon.

The game tracks every division separately. A division you get right and fast moves up a box and is asked again days later; one you get wrong goes back to the first box and comes back soon. The waiting times are the same day, the next day, 3 days, 7 days and 21 days. A division counts as known once it has been answered correctly on two different days, and fast at least once.

The Sharing tab of the Market notebook shows the divisions in colours: grey Not yet, red Tricky, yellow Learning, green Known, gold Known and fast. Underneath are the five divisions you find hardest and a Practise these round.

Division is the inverse of multiplication. For 42 ÷ 7, ask yourself "7 times what makes 42?"; since 7 × 6 = 42, the answer is 6. That is why knowing the times tables well first makes division faster.

• Start with dividing by 2, 5 and 10: dividing by 10 means taking the zero off the end (70 ÷ 10 = 7).
• Dividing a number by itself gives 1 (8 ÷ 8 = 1); dividing by 1 does not change the number.
• If you get stuck, skip count: 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42; the sixth number is 42, so the answer is 6.
• The Missing number mode in the main game (? × 7 = 42) is the best preparation for division.

In the main game's Whiteboard mode, Sharing can be chosen as the question type. The teacher picks the tables and an optional time limit; the calculation fills most of the screen. The class says the answer and the teacher presses Show; the Crates button shows the fruit shared into the crates. The space bar shows the answer and moves on. Sound is off by default, no ads appear, and the children's own progress does not change.