what is 5 1/4 divided by -7 1/2?

Question

what is 5 1/4 divided by -7 1/2?

Answer 1

If you lesson (or teacher) requires the answer be accomplished in fractions, you can do it this way

 

5 1/4 = 21

            ---

            4

 

-7 1/2 = - 15

                ---

                2

 

The rule for dividing fractions is to take the inverse of the denominator and then mulitply so that:

 

(21/4)

-------

(-15/2)

 

becomes

 

(21/4)(-2/15)

 

Multiple the numerators and denominators to get:

 

-42/60, which can be reduced to -7/10.

Answer 2

Hi Fray;

5 1/4 divided by -7 1/2

Let's make this easier...

5.25 divided by -7.5

Decimals make more sense than fractions, in this situation.

5.25/-7.5

This will result in a negative number...

-0.7

Answer 3

The best way to solve this problem is to change the mixed numbers into improper fractions. For 5 1/4, you multiply the whole number by the denominator then add that product to the numerator. The new numerator is that sum and the denominator stays the same. This results in 21/4. Then following the same method for -7 1/2, you end up getting -15/2. Now to divide to fractions, you multiply the dividend, 21/4,  by the inverse of the divisor, -15/2, which is -2/15. So 21/4 divided by -15/2 is the same as 21/4*-2/15. The final result is -42/60. The greatest common factor of 42 and 60 is 6, so reduce the fraction by divided the numerator and denominator by 6. This gives you -7/10 or -.7.