Did I Divide That?!?!?

Fractions can come easy or hard to some people when doing it in math class.  For me is was quite simple, but once my teachers tried to teach me that two fractions can be divided by each other I becae the biggest confused person in the classroom.  I needed extra help and once I got the help I had to teach myself that there is one important step that has to be taken before I can complete the problem.  I would always forget to flip the fraction before soloving.  This week I wanted to focus on dividing fractions.

When I was a student and I had saw a similar problem like this I was very confused on what was done and why it was done that way.  Below are some steps to solving a fraction divided by another fraction.

Steps:

1. The problem is given as a division problem.  It must be rewritten to a multiplication problem by simply reversing the fraction recipricol to the divisor.

2. Then you multiply the numerator and the denominator.

3. Then simplify if necessary.

So using the first example given the student(s) would have to solve the problem like this:


1  ➗  1  ͇     1 ✖  4   ͇    4   ͇͇   2
2         4       2       1      2



CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.B.7
Apply and extend previous understandings of division to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.

Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.NS.A.1
Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem. For example, create a story context for (2/3) ÷ (3/4) and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient; use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that (2/3) ÷ (3/4) = 8/9 because 3/4 of 8/9 is 2/3. (In general, (a/b) ÷ (c/d) = ad/bc.) How much chocolate will each person get if 3 people share 1/2 lb of chocolate equally? How many 3/4-cup servings are in 2/3 of a cup of yogurt? How wide is a rectangular strip of land with length 3/4 mi and area 1/2 square mi?.