| Field | Mathematics |
| Went Obsolete | c. late 1960s |
| Made Obsolete By | Proliferation of electronic calculators |
| Knowledge Assumed | Division, handwriting |
| When useful | When a calculator is not available |
A multi-step procedure by which one divides one number (dividend) by another (divisor) in order to determine the resulting number of equal groups.
To perform long division, one attempts to divide successively smaller portions of the dividend by the divisor, carrying the remainder of one step over to the next step and continuing the process. If necessary, the process can continue into the decimal range until a final result is obtained, or one chooses to abandon the process and simply round the remainder (in the case of a periodic rational number).
NOT OBSOLETE - I had to use long division at uni while studying “Discrete Mathematics” for the Euclidean Algorithm.