How to Divide Fractions into 3 Easy Steps With Examples

Non-Math Essentials for Learning Math

Most of the kids fear the word ‘Division’ and the teachers find it difficult too, but let me tell you that it’s as simple as learning multiplication. You just need some simple instructions to proceed. As a teacher, you don’t want your student to just learn to solve a problem, but you also want to make them understand what’s the concept behind it

It becomes tough for you when you are not able to make your students visualize the concept behind it when you don’t have a full grasp on it and if a student doesn’t get these concepts cleared up in their junior classes, then they might face a lot of problems in their higher classes.

So in this article, we have compiled some of the tricky steps into easy ways to make you get along with your students, and hopefully, by the end of this brief article, you will become the wizard of dividing fractions, and then you can easily teach how to divide fractions to your students.

How Does Dividing Fractions Work?

How to Divide Fractions

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Dividing fractions is one of the most basic mathematics tools or a concept that a student learns in his primary class and we need to teach them how this concept works. In layman’s language, we can describe fractions as a part of any number. We come across fractions in our everyday lives. One-fourth of a cake, a half glass of water, etc are all examples of fractions. Now let us learn how to divide fractions.

I have a question for you. What is ¼ divided by ⅛? The answer is 2. Let us find out how. 

In this question, we are asking how many ⅛ appear in ¼. Suppose you have got 1/4th of the cake remaining with yourself. Now if each portion of it is 1/8 of the whole, then you will have 2 pieces of cake with yourself.

Note: Before setting on to explain the concept of dividing fractions, make your student flexible with some basic mathematical terminologies like what is a divisor, what’s a dividend, what is the remainder, and so on. These mathematical terminologies will help them understand these concepts more vividly. 

Ways to Divide Fractions in 3 Easy Steps 

If we simply go on to divide fractions without following these steps, it could be difficult to solve complex fractions, but with these steps, it becomes pretty easy for any beginner to get a stronghold in the concept of dividing fractions.

Step 1: Flip the divisor into a reciprocal. So when we divide ¼ by ⅛, the divisor here is ⅛, so you just need to flip it or turn the divisor into a reciprocal from 1/8 to 8/1.

Step 2: Change the divisor sign into a multiplication sign and then multiply. 

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¼ ÷ ⅛ = (¼ )×(8/1) and then multiply the numerator to get a new numerator and multiply the denominator to get a new denominator,i.e, 

1/4 × 8/1= 8/4 

Step 3: Simplify the fraction to get the final answer. Here as it is 8/4, on simplification of the fraction, we get 2/1 = 2. 

Making your students follow these steps can make your students’ lives a whole lot easier. 

Different Types Of Fraction 

  • Proper fractions – In these types of fractions, the numerator is smaller than the denominator. For example, 3/7, 14/87, 41/57, etc. 
  • Improper fractions – In these types of fractions, the numerator is bigger than the denominator. For example, 7/3, 87/14, 57/41, etc.
  • Mixed fraction- A whole number with a proper fraction together is called a mixed fraction. For example, 3 ¼, 5 ⅓ ,etc. Mixed fractions are nothing but improper fractions, arranged properly. For example, 3 ¼ is expanded as [(4×3)+1]/4 which equals 13/4. 

Some Examples of Dividing Fractions

Always try to change any type of fraction into a simpler one. For example: 

1) 2/8 ÷ 1/2 = 1/4 ÷ 1/2 = 1/4×2/1 = 2/4 = ½. 

2) 3/7 ÷ 4/18 = 3/7 ÷ 2/9 = 3/7×9/2 = 27/14.  

3) 4⅓ ÷ 5⅔ = [(4×3)+1]/4÷[(3×5)+2]/3

    = 13/4÷17/3 =13/4×3/17 =(13×3)/(17×4) = 39/68.

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In this way, you can solve and explain the maximum number of problems as well as make them understand the need to divide fractions. Still solving a word problem could be tricky so we suggest you always convert a mixed fraction given in the question into an improper fraction and then solve using the three steps given above.

Make your students practice various sums related to the concept of dividing fractions and very soon this concept will become a child’s play for them.

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