Welcome to decimal division! Decimal division is a fundamental mathematical operation that extends whole number division to include decimal numbers. Let's start with a simple example: twelve point six divided by three.
The first method to solve decimal division is to convert it into whole number division. We multiply both the dividend and divisor by the same power of ten. For twelve point six divided by three, we multiply both by ten to get one hundred twenty-six divided by thirty, which equals four point two.
The second method uses traditional long division. We set up the division problem with three outside and twelve point six inside. First, we divide twelve by three to get four. Then we bring down the six and divide six by three to get two. The decimal point in the quotient aligns with the decimal point in the dividend, giving us four point two.
When dividing by a decimal, we must first convert the divisor to a whole number. Let's look at eight point four divided by two point one. We move the decimal point one place to the right in both numbers, giving us eighty-four divided by twenty-one. This equals four. Therefore, eight point four divided by two point one equals four.
Let's summarize the key rules for decimal division. Rule one: when dividing by whole numbers, keep the decimal point in the same position in the quotient. Rule two: when dividing by decimals, move the decimal points to make the divisor a whole number. Here are some practice examples: fifteen point six divided by four equals three point nine, seven point two divided by one point eight equals four, and nine point forty-five divided by zero point five equals eighteen point nine. With practice, decimal division becomes much easier!