Simple division

Division can be thought of as sharing or splitting. Many of the strategies for division use what we know about multiplication.

Division by 2, 4 and 8

Division by 2 is the same as splitting the number in two equal pieces. We halve the number. For example:

\begin{align} 24\div2&=\frac{1}{2} \text{of}\ 24\\\\ &=12 \end{align}

Division by 4 is the same as halving the number, then halving again.

For 24 ÷ 4:  \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) of 24 is 12,  \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) of 12 is 6

So 24 ÷ 4 = 6

Division by 8 is the same as halving the number, then halving again, then halving one more time. For example:

For 24 ÷ 8: \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) of 24 is 12,  \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) of 12 is 6,  \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) of 6 is 3

So 24 ÷ 8 = 3