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Dividing non unit fractions by whole numbers

Lesson

The next step

Now that we have seen how to divide a fraction by a whole number, it's just one more step to be able to divide any fraction by a whole number. We're still sharing our fractions, but we are starting with a larger part of something. It's handy to remember the reciprocal of a number, as we'll be using that to solve our problems.

Let's see how we can divide our fraction by a whole number, in this video.

The rule

When you need to divide a fraction by a whole number, you can multiply the fraction by the reciprocal of the whole number.

Worked Examples

Question 1

Evaluate $\frac{3}{5}\div4$35÷​4 giving your answer as a simplified fraction.

question 2

Evaluate $\frac{4}{7}\div2$47÷​2 giving your answer as a simplified fraction.

Question 3

Evaluate $\frac{90}{16}\div3$9016÷​3 giving your answer as an improper fraction.

Outcomes

NA5-3

Understand operations on fractions, decimals, percentages, and integers

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