How many of these fit inside that

A tailor has 3/4 of a ribbon roll. Each trim, a short piece of ribbon, takes 1/8 of a roll. How many trims fit?

Dividing counts copies

6 trims fit. Each trim is one copy of 1/8.

Start with a small case. How many quarters fit inside a half? Two of them. So 1/2 ÷ 1/4 = 2.

Dividing by a fraction is the same as multiplying by its reciprocal.

3/4 ÷ 1/8 is 3/4 × 8/1. Tops: 3 × 8 = 24. Bottoms: 4 × 1 = 4. 24/4 is 6.

The number of copies is not always whole. 2/3 ÷ 1/4 is 2/3 × 4/1, which is 8/3. And 8 ÷ 3 is 2 with 2 left, so 2 2/3.

Slide to lay copies along the strip in the lab. Count how many fit.

Try the lab to finish this lesson.