B brucestl New member Joined Dec 24, 2011 Messages 1 Dec 24, 2011 #1 How do you explain to a young person that when you divide by a fraction you come out with a larger number or fraction?
How do you explain to a young person that when you divide by a fraction you come out with a larger number or fraction?
S soroban Elite Member Joined Jan 28, 2005 Messages 5,584 Dec 24, 2011 #2 Hello, brucestl! How do you explain to a young person that when you divide by a fraction, you come out with a larger number or fraction? Click to expand... We have a 6-foot board. We cut it into 2-foot pieces. .How many pieces do we have? . . \(\displaystyle 6 \div 2 \:=\:3\) pieces. We cut it into 1-foot pieces. .How many pieces do we have? . . \(\displaystyle 6 \div 1 \:=\:1\) pieces. We cut it into \(\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}\)-foot pieces. .How many pieces do we have? . . \(\displaystyle 6 \div \frac{1}{2} \:=\:12\) pieces. We cut it into \(\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}\)-foot pieces. .How many pieces do we have? . . \(\displaystyle 6\div\frac{1}{4} \:=\:24\) pieces. Hence, the smaller the pieces, the more pieces we have.
Hello, brucestl! How do you explain to a young person that when you divide by a fraction, you come out with a larger number or fraction? Click to expand... We have a 6-foot board. We cut it into 2-foot pieces. .How many pieces do we have? . . \(\displaystyle 6 \div 2 \:=\:3\) pieces. We cut it into 1-foot pieces. .How many pieces do we have? . . \(\displaystyle 6 \div 1 \:=\:1\) pieces. We cut it into \(\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}\)-foot pieces. .How many pieces do we have? . . \(\displaystyle 6 \div \frac{1}{2} \:=\:12\) pieces. We cut it into \(\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}\)-foot pieces. .How many pieces do we have? . . \(\displaystyle 6\div\frac{1}{4} \:=\:24\) pieces. Hence, the smaller the pieces, the more pieces we have.
