Decimals – How Do I Divide Decimals?

By Stuart Ackerman

     When dividing decimals it is important to remember to keep the divisor in the form of an integer (note: the division signs that follow look like square root signs..they are division signs).

     Example:        0.5 √.15 

     We want to look at the 0.5 as simply 5 (an integer rather than a decimal). 

     How do we do this?

     We will move the decimal 1 space to the right in the divisor (the 0.5).

     5.0 √.15     

     We have changed the 0.5 to 5 by moving the decimal 1 space to the right.

     So now we do the SAME to the dividend (.15).

       5 √1.5      (Note: 5 and 5.0 are the same thing)

    Now we simply divide:

            0.3

    5 √1.5

     To check your work, you can multiply the quotient by the divisor and see if you get the dividend (i.e. 0.3 x 5 =?).

     If we are dividing .15 by 0.05, we would have to move the decimal point 2 spaces in order to get the integer of 5.  If we move the decimal two spaces to get 5, we have to move it 2 spaces and change .15 to 15.

     The key to dividing decimals is the following:

1.    Change the divisor (the number outside the division sign) to an integer (a non-decimal).

2.    What ever number of spaces you moved the decimal in the divisor in order to make it an integer; you move the decimal the same number of spaces in the dividend (the number inside the division sign).

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