The strange story of:37.5 1.25

Dividing Decimals by a

Decimal Number

37.5 1.25

3 7 51 2 5

To solve this problem you ALWAYS put the first number IN the box.

Step 1:

The regular division procedure does not work comfortably with decimal divisors…

37.5 1.25

3 7 51 2 5

…so we need to move the decimal point to the right!

Step 2:

3 7 51 2 5

3 7 51 2 5 0

…since we moved the decimal in the divisor, we need to move the decimal in the dividend the same number of spaces.

…and annexing a zeros as needed.

Step 3:

3 7 51 2 5 3 7 51 2 5

3 7 51 2 5 0

Step 4:

Move decimal straight up from the dividend to the top of the bracket and divide using basic division procedure.

0400025

Zeros in Divisor and Dividend

000

Insignificant zeros

Follow the same steps as before with moving the decimal in the divisor and dividend……Then drop the zeros that are insignificant, or unimportant, to the problem.

0.4 ÷ 0.0025

425 000

Zeros in Divisor and Dividend0.4 ÷ 0.0025

Rewrite the new problem and solve like normal.