Division is the process of splitting a number (the dividend) into equal parts, determined by another number (the divisor), to find out how many times the divisor fits into the dividend or the size of each part. The result is called the quotient.
- Dividend: The number to be divided.
- Divisor: The number by which you divide.
- Quotient: The result of division.
The main components of division are the dividend, divisor, and quotient.
- 🧮 A division equation looks like this: 20 ÷ 4 = 5, where 20 is the dividend, 4 is the divisor, and 5 is the quotient.
- ↔️ Division and multiplication are inverse operations: if 20 ÷ 4 = 5, then 5 × 4 = 20.
Dividing 20 by 4 gives 5.
Division Vocabulary
| French | English | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Le dividende | Dividend | Le nombre que l'on divise. |
| Le diviseur | Divisor | Le nombre par lequel on divise. |
| Le quotient | Quotient | Le résultat de la division. |
| Le reste | Remainder | Ce qui reste après une division. |
Le reste est le mot pour 'remainder' en français.
Division with Whole Numbers
When you divide whole numbers, you’re either distributing equally or finding how many groups can be made.
- If 12 Ă· 3 = 4, you can make four groups of three, or each of the three groups gets four units.
- If the numbers don’t divide evenly, you get a remainder. Example: 14 ÷ 4 = 3 remainder 2.
You can interpret division as dividing into equal groups or finding the number of groups.
- 🧩 Division facts are closely tied to multiplication facts.
- âž— Division can be shown with symbols: Ă·, /, or a fraction bar.
Long Division
Long division is a step-by-step method for dividing large numbers.
- You see how many times the divisor fits into parts of the dividend (starting from the left), subtract, then bring down the next digit.
- Repeat until all digits are used.
- If something’s left over, that’s the remainder.
You write the leftover as the remainder.
Key steps in long division are divide, subtract, and bring down the next digit.
Division with Fractions and Decimals
- Dividing by a fraction means multiplying by its reciprocal (flipping numerator and denominator).
- For decimals, you can “move the decimal point” to make the divisor a whole number, then divide as usual.
You divide by multiplying by the reciprocal of the fraction.
Conclusion
Division is a core math operation that splits numbers into equal parts, with special terms and methods for all types of numbers.
- Key terms: 'dividend' is divided by the 'divisor' to get the 'quotient'.
- Division is like "sharing" or "grouping," and is the opposite of multiplication.
- You can divide whole numbers, fractions, and decimals, using methods like long division for big numbers.