In arithmetic, short ivision is a procedure which breaks down a division problem into a series of easier steps. As in all division problems, one number, called the dividend, is divided by another, called the divisor, producing a result called the quotient. Short division requires no advanced technology nor mental gymnastics, merely paper and pencil (or any similar means for writing). It is very powerful, enabling computations involving arbitrarily large numbers to be performed by following a series of simple steps.