Free Printable Sheets Include “Show Your Work” Answer Keys and Adjustable Difficulty
Trying to tackle Long Division with your student and need problems for testing or practice? Want to slowly ramp up the difficulty while working through all different variations of division problem types? Here’s a great resource. Here is my own custom division test creator. It is an Excel spreadsheet, using formulas to generate random problems at a variety of different levels of difficulty you may need at any given time. You can print test after test, and they are never the same. Make them harder or easier with easy adjustment settings. Practice a different test every day or night if you want! To download, just click here. Depending on your browser and virus scanner, you may have to unblock or manually okay opening the file by adjusting file properties.
Managing the File
The Excel file has four tabs or worksheets, one with 100 division facts, one for two step division with no remainder, one for two step division with a remainder, and one with two step division that divdes down to a one digit decimal place. On each tab or sheet, there are varying numbers of problems, depending on complexity, that are randomly generated, with an answer key below. If you print the tab as set up in two pages, the first page is the test, and the second page is the answer key. You can skip the answer key by just printing page 1, but the answer key will be very helpful in grading or just explaining how to do the work. If you are a teacher with a class of 30, you could print 30 copies of page one and one copy of page 2 for you, although you may find it helpful to have a copy of the answer key for each student to review as a teaching tool. Maybe you are a student or home schooler who would like to have a test and then be able to check your work- print both pages and check your work after completing the test. The only way to get a printed answer key that matches the worksheet is to print them at the same time. The tests are designed to have room for the test taker to show their work for each problem and the answer key shows all work required.
For your convenience, the 100 division facts tab has been included in this Excel file. It is the same as the one in the basic file for all math facts, and has the same set up where you can choose the difficulty by adjusting the settings. I’ll leave those details to the other file, and focus instead on the unique set up of the three long division tabs.
Changing the Difficulty
For long division, I chose a process that lets users set minimum and maximum values for the divisor and the quotient (the answer for those that aren’t up on their division terms). The dividend (the number being divided) then gets generated by the formulas to fit within the two step division guidelines and match up for the type of problem we need. The formulas create random problems that have an answer/quotient that is comes out even with no parts leftover. The decimals all come out to one decimal place. The no remainder problems divide evenly with no remainder. All problems are set up for two steps:
1. a first digit is determined and then multiplied by the divisor. That product is then subtracted from the initial left digits. The remainder is the difference. Then the remaining digit is brought down for the second step.
2. The divisor is divided into the end result of the previous step and becomes the second digit of the quotient. That digit is multiplied by the divisor, and the result is subtracted to determine whether or not their is a remainder. If needed, a decimal place is assigned to the final quotient.
For handy reference, next to the settings, two problems are shown, the easiest and hardest possible problem for the chosen settings. By adjusting settings, you can quickly see the impact in terms of the range of possible problems. The picture here shows an example from the problems with no remainder. Actual problems will be random numbers somewhere in between the easiest and hardest problems. You can see in this simple example that a wide variety of difficulty is possible.
Settings Limits
Keep your quotient to two digits so that the problems are all two steps, bigger quotients will not show work properly. For the decimal tab, make your quotients be less than 10, so that the two digits are the ones digit and the first decimal place. Each tab lists the limits of the quotient, so just follow the guideline. The divisor can be up to three digits on each of the two step tabs, which can provide some very difficult problems.
Issues with the file?
Generally, if a user of the file avoids changing formulas in the sheets and follows the above instructions, the file should work fine. However, if you received this file from a source other than the original website and experience difficulties, try downloading a fresh free copy. To download, just click here.
If you spot an error or have suggestions for improvement or other sheets, leave a comment on the website and I’ll look into it and make improvements if required.