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For example, in the fraction 3 / 4 , the numerator 3 indicates that the fraction represents 3 equal parts, and the denominator 4 indicates that 4 parts make up a whole. The picture to the right illustrates 3 / 4 of a cake. Fractions can be used to represent ratios and division. [1]
Thought of quotitively, a division problem can be solved by repeatedly subtracting groups of the size of the divisor. [1] For instance, suppose each egg carton fits 12 eggs, and the problem is to find how many cartons are needed to fit 36 eggs in total. Groups of 12 eggs at a time can be separated from the main pile until none are left, 3 groups:
In the second step, they were divided by 3. The final result, 4 / 3 , is an irreducible fraction because 4 and 3 have no common factors other than 1. The original fraction could have also been reduced in a single step by using the greatest common divisor of 90 and 120, which is 30. As 120 ÷ 30 = 4, and 90 ÷ 30 = 3, one gets
In abstract algebra, given a magma with binary operation ∗ (which could nominally be termed multiplication), left division of b by a (written a \ b) is typically defined as the solution x to the equation a ∗ x = b, if this exists and is unique. Similarly, right division of b by a (written b / a) is the solution y to the equation y ∗ a = b ...
It has two definitions: either the integer part of a division (in the case of Euclidean division) [2] or a fraction or ratio (in the case of a general division). For example, when dividing 20 (the dividend ) by 3 (the divisor ), the quotient is 6 (with a remainder of 2) in the first sense and 6 2 3 = 6.66... {\displaystyle 6{\tfrac {2}{3}}=6.66 ...
Long division is the standard algorithm used for pen-and-paper division of multi-digit numbers expressed in decimal notation. It shifts gradually from the left to the right end of the dividend, subtracting the largest possible multiple of the divisor (at the digit level) at each stage; the multiples then become the digits of the quotient, and the final difference is then the remainder.
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Caldrini (1491) is the earliest printed example of long division, known as the Danda method in medieval Italy, [4] and it became more practical with the introduction of decimal notation for fractions by Pitiscus (1608). The specific algorithm in modern use was introduced by Henry Briggs c. 1600. [5]