Question

how can you tell before dividing that the first digit of the quotient 2,874/3 is in the hundreds place?

Answer 1

I can tell the answer is in the hundreds place by rounding 2874 into 3000 so 3000/3 is 1000 but you already know 2874 is less than 3000 so you know the quotient is gonna be a number that has a 9 in the hundreds place.