Kirsten M. answered • 12/28/21
Experienced math tutor with daily practice.
To divide fractions, we take the second listed fraction and turn it upside down (the numerator becomes the denominator), then we multiply the fractions together and simplify.
So,
3/4 divided by 5/16 becomes: 3/4 x 16/5
multiplying the numerators gives us 48
multiplying the denominators gives us 20
This creates the fraction 48/20.
To simplify, we need to find the lowest common factor. Let's factor 20 first. The first one that comes to mind is 5 x4 (the numbers we started with). Since 48 is not divisible by 5, let's see if 4 works? 48 divided by 4 =12, so now we have:
5x4/12x4, which, when we remove the common factor, leaves us with 5/12
