Dividing

Understanding Division

Division is one of the four basic operations in mathematics, along with addition, subtraction and multiplication.
In essence, it is the process of dividing or splitting a number into equal parts.
For example, 12 divided by 4 equals 3, because twelve can be split into four groups of three.

The number being divided is called the dividend.
The number by which we are dividing is known as the divisor.
The result of the division is referred to as the quotient.
Any number left over is called the remainder. Thus, in the division 17 divided by 4 equals 4 remainder 1, 17 is the dividend, 4 is the divisor, 4 is the quotient and 1 is the remainder.

Division can also be represented as a fraction. For instance, 10 divided by 2 can be written as 10/2.
The numerator (top number) serves as the dividend and the denominator (bottom number) acts as the divisor.
In the given example, 10 is the dividend and 2 is the divisor, making the quotient 5.

The division of two integers (division without remainder) is a finite decimal.
If a number is divided by itself, the result is always 1. This is because any number split into groups of itself will result in one group.
Any number divided by 1 gives the same number. This is because any number split into groups of one will result in the same number of groups as the original number.
Note zero, however, cannot be used as a divisor. Division by zero is undefined in mathematics.

Confusion between division and multiplication: Remember, multiplication is a form of repeated addition, while division is splitting into equal groups.
Misunderstanding remainders: If a division calculation has a remainder, it means there is part of the dividend left over after splitting into equal groups of the divisor.
Assuming division by zero is possible: Division by zero is not defined. It’s important to remember that you cannot divide by zero.