Divide decimals: FAQ

Estimating can be helpful for a few reasons. First, it can give us a rough idea of what the quotient should be, which can help catch mistakes. Additionally, when we estimate, we can get a rough idea of what the answer will be before we actually divide. This can help us check our work later on.

Try it yourself with this exercise:

When we divide one whole number by another, we're trying to break the first number into equal-sized chunks. Sometimes, the first number can be broken up evenly into those chunks - for example, $12÷4=3$‍ , because we can break $12$‍ into four chunks of three each.

But other times, the first number can't be divided evenly by the second. For example, if we divide $11$‍ by $4$‍, we can only divide it into two chunks of four, with three left over. We can express this as a mixed number ($2{\displaystyle \frac{3}{4}}$‍) or as a decimal ($2.75$‍). The decimal represents the part of the chunk that we couldn't divide evenly.

Try it yourself with these exercises:

There are a few potential reasons why it might be helpful to understand how to divide whole numbers by $0.1$‍ and $0.01$‍. In general, it is helpful to understand how to perform various types of calculations with numbers, so that you can be flexible and confident when faced with different math problems.

Dividing by $0.1$‍ and $0.01$‍ specifically can come up in a variety of contexts. For example, if you want to convert a whole number of cents into dollars, you would divide by $100$‍ (or $0.01$‍).

Understanding how to divide by $0.1$‍ and $0.01$‍ can also help you understand the concept of place value and how decimal points function. For example, dividing by $0.1$‍ will shift the decimal point one place to the right, while dividing by $0.01$‍ will shift the decimal point two places to the right.

Try it yourself with this exercise:

We can use models or drawings to help us understand the concept of dividing decimals by whole numbers. For example, we can divide a bar into equal sections to see what each part is worth.

Try it yourself with these exercises:

There are many real-world applications for dividing decimals. For example, when we want to split a bill evenly among a group of people, we might need to divide a decimal by a whole number. Or, when we want to convert from one unit of measurement to another, we might need to divide by a decimal.