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Unit 7: Numeracy skills

Decimals

Division

When dividing decimals, the first step is to write the numbers as a fraction. In these pages we are using / as the division symbol
So 2.14 / 1.2 can be written as:

2 . 1 4
-----------
1 . 2  

Next, move the decimal point to the right until the numbers are both no longer decimals. Do this for the same number of places for both the top and bottom, adding in zeros as required. So

2 . 1 4   2 1 4
----------- becomes --------
1 . 2       1 2 0

 


This can then be calculated as a normal division.

Always check your answer from the original to make sure that things haven’t gone wrong along the way. You would expect 2.14 / 1.2 to be somewhere between 1 and 2. In fact, the answer is 1.78
If this method seems strange, try using a calculator to calculate:
2.14 / 1.2
21.4 / 12
214 / 120

and 2140 / 1200

The answer should always be the same.

Example 1

4.36 / 0.14 = 4 . 3 6   4 3 6          
    ------------- = --------- = 31.14 .    
    0 . 1 4     1 4  

Example 2

27.93 / 1.2 = 2 7 . 9 3 = 2 7 9 3              
    --------------   ---------- = 23.28          
      1 . 2       1 2 0

Creative Commons License
SMILE - Numeracy skills by Tom Frank, Eric Williams and Clare Wright, University of Birmingham Careers Centre adapted by Marion Kelt Glasgow Caledonian University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.