Fractions – Division

Division or divide is a method of sharing or grouping a number or things into equal parts.

In this tutorial we will learn division of fractions.

Multiplication and division of fractions is almost same.

A fraction has 2 parts numerator and denominator.

In division of fractions we multiply first fraction by reciprocal of the second fraction.

Dividing 3/5 is same as multiplying by 5/3.

Dividing 4/5 is same as multiplying by 5/4.

Dividing 3/2 is same as multiplying by 2/3.

There are simple steps in we can solve the division of fractions.

Step 1: Write the first fraction.

Step 2: Change the division to multiplication.

Step 3: Flip(Turn) the second fraction (we want to divide by) upside down (now a reciprocal).

Step 4: Now multiply numerators and denominators.

Step 5: Simplify the fractions (if needed).

How to Divide Fractions?

Dividing fractions means multiplying the fractions by writing the reciprocal of one of the fractions.

Reciprocal of 3/2 is 2/3

and reciprocal of 5/6 is 6/5

Reciprocal mean if a fraction is a/b, then its reciprocal will be b/a or simply interchanging the position of numerator and denominator with each other.

If a/b is a fraction which is divided by c/d, then we can solve the division as;

a/b ÷ c/d = a/b x d/c

= (a x d)/(b x c)

= ad/bc

From above expression, we can see that when a/b is divided by c/d, we can write it as a/b, multiplied by d/c (reciprocal of c/d), and in next step, we multiply both numerator (a x d) and denominator (b x c) and simplify the fraction in needed.