We divide
to find how many times one number is contained in
another number.
To divide 12 by 2, for example,
is to find "how many 2's are in 12." The answer
is 6.
In division,
the number to be divided is called the dividend.
The number by which we divided it is a called the
divisor. The answer is called the quotient.
The sign for division is ÷ , and it is read
"divided by."
Just as
substraction is an inverse operation of addition,
division is an inverse operation
of multiplication. When we say "12 ÷
2 = 6," we are saying "what number multiplied
by 6 gives 12 as the
product?
Since 2 × 6 = 12, the answer to the question is "2",
and so we say "12 ÷ 2 = 6."
Examples:
