Read About Dividing Fractions by Fractions

Divide 5 by [ggfrac]1/4[/ggfrac] Imagine we serve 5 quesadillas at a party, and each one of them is cut into fourths. To find out how many pieces we have in total, we need to divide 5 by [ggfrac]1/4[/ggfrac]. If we draw 5 circles and split each of them into 4 equal parts, we have a total of 20 pieces. We can rewrite division problems as multiplication problems: We keep the first number the same, we change the operation to multiplication, and we flip fraction so [ggfrac]1/4[/ggfrac] becomes 4. Then 5 ÷ [ggfrac]1/4[/ggfrac] is the same as 5 x 4, which is 20! Now you try: Solve 3 ÷ [ggfrac]1/5[/ggfrac].

Divide 3 by [ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac] To solve 3 ÷ [ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac], we follow the keep-change-flip method again to turn the division problem into a multiplication problem: We keep the 3, we change the operation to multiplication, and we flip the fraction. Then 3 ÷ [ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac] becomes 3 x [ggfrac]4/3[/ggfrac] which is equal to [ggfrac]12/3[/ggfrac], which simplifies to 4! Now you try: Solve 4 ÷ [ggfrac]2/3[/ggfrac].

Dividing Fractions by Fractions A community garden is [ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac] of an acre, and we want to divide it into sections that are [ggfrac]1/8[/ggfrac] of an acre. How many sections are there? We can solve this by dividing [ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac] ÷ [ggfrac]1/8[/ggfrac]. Even though we are dividing a fraction by a fraction, we can still use the keep-change-flip method. We keep [ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac], we change the operation to multiplication, and we flip [ggfrac]1/8[/ggfrac] so that it becomes [ggfrac]8/1[/ggfrac]. Now the problem is the same as [ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac] x [ggfrac]8/1[/ggfrac]. Remember that when we multiply fractions, we multiply the numerator by the numerator, and the denominator by the denominator. 3×8=24 and 4×1=4. So our answer is [ggfrac]24/4[/ggfrac], which simplifies to 6! The garden has 6 sections. Now you try: Solve [ggfrac]4/6[/ggfrac] ÷ [ggfrac]1/3[/ggfrac].

Quotients That Are Mixed Numbers You have [ggfrac]5/6[/ggfrac] yard of fabric that you want to make shirts out of. Each shirt needs [ggfrac]2/5[/ggfrac] yard of fabric. How many shirts can you make? We can find out by solving [ggfrac]5/6[/ggfrac] ÷ [ggfrac]2/5[/ggfrac]. If we use the keep-change-flip method, we can turn this into the multiplication problem [ggfrac]5/6[/ggfrac] x [ggfrac]5/2[/ggfrac], which is equal to [ggfrac]25/12[/ggfrac]. Since 25 is greater than 12, we know that this fraction is greater than one whole. 25 divided by 12 is 2 with a remainder of 1, so this is equal to 2[ggfrac]1/12[/ggfrac]. That means we can make 2 shirts, and we will have a little bit of fabric left over. Now you try: Solve [ggfrac]8/5[/ggfrac] ÷ [ggfrac]1/3[/ggfrac].

Dividing Using Mixed Numbers If you run a total of 2[ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac] miles on a track and each lap is [ggfrac]11/12[/ggfrac] mile, how many laps did you run? We can find out by solving 2[ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac] ÷ [ggfrac]11/12[/ggfrac]. First, we need to convert the mixed number into a fraction that is greater than 1. We want to express the whole number 2 using the denominator 4. 2 = [ggfrac]4/4[/ggfrac] + [ggfrac]4/4[/ggfrac] = [ggfrac]8/4[/ggfrac], plus [ggfrac]3/4[/ggfrac] equals [ggfrac]11/4[/ggfrac] in total. Now we have [ggfrac]11/4[/ggfrac] ÷ [ggfrac]11/12[/ggfrac] and we can use the keep-change-flip method to rewrite the problem as [ggfrac]11/4[/ggfrac] x [ggfrac]12/11[/ggfrac]. This is equal to [ggfrac]132/44[/ggfrac], which simplifies to 3! You ran 3 laps on the track. Now you try: Solve 1[ggfrac]2/6[/ggfrac] ÷ [ggfrac]2/3[/ggfrac].