Breaking Down Division when divisor is <1

  • Thread starter Thread starter ISX
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Division
AI Thread Summary
Dividing by a number less than one can be understood by adjusting both the dividend and divisor to make the divisor a whole number. For example, dividing 5 by 0.5 can be simplified by multiplying both the numerator and denominator by 10, resulting in 50 divided by 5. This method allows for easier calculations and clearer understanding. Additionally, division can be viewed as repeated subtraction, where you determine how many times you can subtract the divisor from the dividend. This approach clarifies the concept and confirms that 5 divided by 0.5 equals 10.
ISX
Messages
120
Reaction score
0
I haven't been able to figure this out but I am sure it's very simple but I can't understand how to do it.

If you take 5 x 0.5, that is the same as 0.5 + 0.5 +...

Alright so how do you break a division problem down? I realize how dividing by a number greater than 1 works, but under 1 I don't get it and if there was a way it broke down I think I would understand it. If you have 5/0.5 you get 10 obviously but how would that break down into simple terms?
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
It works exactly the same way: It returns q such that 5 = 0.5q.
 
This works as you already learned combined maybe with a fancy way of multiplying by or dividing by 1. So, in your concept, you want to know how to handle divisor less than 1. You want to adjust the dividend AND the divisor so that the divisor is a whole number.

In your example, \frac{5}{0.5}, try multiplying both numerator and denominator by 10.

\frac{5}{0.5} \frac{10}{10}=\frac{50}{5}.

Now, you can handle the process more easily.
 
ISX said:
I haven't been able to figure this out but I am sure it's very simple but I can't understand how to do it.

If you take 5 x 0.5, that is the same as 0.5 + 0.5 +...

Alright so how do you break a division problem down? I realize how dividing by a number greater than 1 works, but under 1 I don't get it and if there was a way it broke down I think I would understand it. If you have 5/0.5 you get 10 obviously but how would that break down into simple terms?
For simple arithmetic problems such as this, you can think of division as repeated subtraction. In other wods, how many times can you subtract 0.5 from 5? Pretty obviously, the answer is 10.
 
Mark44 said:
For simple arithmetic problems such as this, you can think of division as repeated subtraction. In other wods, how many times can you subtract 0.5 from 5? Pretty obviously, the answer is 10.

That's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for the help. Thanks to the others who expanded on this as well.
 
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. In Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics published in 1930 he introduced a “convenient notation” he referred to as a “delta function” which he treated as a continuum analog to the discrete Kronecker delta. The Kronecker delta is simply the indexed components of the identity operator in matrix algebra Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/what-exactly-is-diracs-delta-function/ by...
Fermat's Last Theorem has long been one of the most famous mathematical problems, and is now one of the most famous theorems. It simply states that the equation $$ a^n+b^n=c^n $$ has no solutions with positive integers if ##n>2.## It was named after Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665). The problem itself stems from the book Arithmetica by Diophantus of Alexandria. It gained popularity because Fermat noted in his copy "Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et...
Thread 'Imaginary Pythagorus'
I posted this in the Lame Math thread, but it's got me thinking. Is there any validity to this? Or is it really just a mathematical trick? Naively, I see that i2 + plus 12 does equal zero2. But does this have a meaning? I know one can treat the imaginary number line as just another axis like the reals, but does that mean this does represent a triangle in the complex plane with a hypotenuse of length zero? Ibix offered a rendering of the diagram using what I assume is matrix* notation...
Back
Top