Division with decimals

Division of decimals by decimals

Question 1

1.2 ÷ 0.3 = ?

Solution

1.2 ÷ 0.3 = 12 ÷ 3 = 4

Illustrating the process

Strip of squares.

Question: How many lots of 0.3 in 1.2?
Answer: There are 4 lots of 0.3 in 1.2.

The picture also illustrates the division 1.2 ÷ 4 = 0.3.
Question: If 1.2 is divided into 4 equal parts how much is each part?
Answer: Each part is 0.3.

The multiplication 4 × 0.3 = 1.2 is also shown by this diagram.

Multiplying the dividend and divisor by the same power of 10

The working in Question 1 could be expanded to:

1.2 ÷ 0.3 = (1.2 × 10) ÷ (0.3 × 10) = 12 ÷ 3 = 4.

The dividend is 1.2 and the divisor is 0.3. The dividend and divisor are both multiplied by 10 to simplify the problem. They both become positive whole numbers.

Division with decimals

Illustrating division