You are dividing 3,972 by 41. explain why the first digit in the quotient should be placed over the tens place of the dividend

When you are dividing you have to make sure how many times the divisor (41) can go into the dividend (3,972). Thus, logically-speaking, if I told you to divide 3 by 41 you can't really get any whole numbers and only decimals. If I told you to divide 39 by 41 you also wouldn't get any whole numbers and would only have a decimal value as your quotient. But if I told you to divide 397 by 41 you would get a whole number and perhaps a remainder. That remainder will be used to continue the method for dividing 3,972 by 41. That's why you would want to put the first digit of the quotient on top of the 7 (the last digit of 397).