Dividing Decimals as Fractions

We have learned to divide fractions using three simple steps. Now with the help of these steps let us learn how to divide decimals with examples.

Example: Divide 0.5 ÷ 0.2

Solution: To divide these decimal numbers, we have to convert both the decimal number into natural numbers by multiplying numerator and denominator by 10.

Therefore, 0.5 × 10 / 0.2 × 10

We get, 5/2 = 2.5

Also, we can use the dividing fractions method to solve the above problem.

We can write 0.5 and 0.2 as 5/10 and 2/10.

So for 5/10 ÷ 2/10, we can use the same steps fraction’s division.

5/10 × 10/2

= 5 × 10 / 10 × 2

= 50/20

= 5/2

= 2.5

Note: These are the simple method of dividing decimals. You can also use the direct division method to divide decimals. The only difference is to place the decimal into the right place of the quotient. Let us take an example of this.

Example: Divide 13.2 ÷ 2

Solution: 2) 13.2 (6.6

—————

12

-12

—————

00

—————

Therefore, 13.2 ÷ 2 = 6.6

Dividing the natural numbers or whole numbers is an easy task but dividing the fractions is a little complex one. The operations performed on natural numbers and whole consist of simple calculations, which one can easily solve. But the operations performed on fractions are sometimes typical and also time-consuming. The simple division has four parts divisor, dividend, quotient and remainder. Also, know some of the divisibility rules for the whole number here.