How do you divide fractions?
Division is similar to multiplying. Actually, it *is* multiplying, but you are multiplying the inverse. Confused yet? It’s like addition/subtraction. When you add 3 and 2, you have 3+2=5. When you subtract 2 from 3, you have 3-2=1. This can be rewritten to be: 3+(-2)=1. Subtraction is the same as adding the negative of that number (called the additive inverse, but you don’t need to do that). Likewise, when you multiply 6 and 2, you have 6*2=12. When you divide 2 into 6, you have 6/2=3. Now, this can be rewritten to be 6*(1/2)=3. Dividing is just multiplying the number with its numerator and denominator reversed (called the multiplicative inverse, but you also don’t need to know that). To see it more clearly, recall that all whole numbers can be written on top of 1. 2/1 = 2, 5/1 = 5, etc. That is why when I say you divide by 2, you multiply by 2/1 with the numerator and denominator switched (1/2). So, going back to the example of 6/2 = 6*(1/2), you can treat any division as multiplying
When you divide fractions by fractions, you always switch the division sign to a multiplication sign and flip the 2nd number upside down. Example: 1/2 divided by 2/3 = 1/2 x 3/2 or if you have 1/2 divided by 4 = 1/2 x 1/4 Sooooooooo 4/7 divided by 3/7 would be 4/7 x 7/3 = 28/21 = 4/3 Don’t ask me why division of fractions is so strange, please. Hope you understood.
