How to Divide Decimals: Step-by-Step Animation

When dividing decimal numbers, we can make the process easier by converting them to whole numbers.Let's start with fourteen point four divided by one point two.To convert these decimals to whole numbers, we'll multiply both numbers by ten.When we multiply by ten, the decimal point moves one place to the right in both numbers.The number of decimal places determines which power of ten to use.Let's look at another example: three point seven five divided by zero point two five.In this case, we need to move the decimal point two places to get whole numbers, so we multiply both numbers by one hundred.Remember, it's crucial to multiply both the dividend and divisor by the same power of ten to maintain the equality.Now that we have our whole numbers 144 and 12, let's perform standard long division.First, we look at how many times 12 goes into 14, the first two digits.Twelve goes into fourteen one time. We multiply one times twelve.Now subtract twelve from fourteen.Bring down the next number, 4. Now we have twenty-four.Now divide twelve into twenty-four.Twelve goes into twenty-four two times. Multiply two times twelve.Subtract twenty-four from twenty-four.Let's verify our answer. Twelve times twelve equals one hundred forty-four, confirming our division is correct.Remember to always check your work by multiplying your answer by the divisor.Now that we've solved one hundred forty-four divided by twelve, let's understand where the decimal point goes in our final answer.Remember, we multiplied both numbers by ten to make them whole numbers. This is a key principle for placing our decimal point.Let's see how the decimal point moves when we multiply by ten.Since we multiplied both the dividend and divisor by the same power of ten, the decimal point in our answer stays in the same place as it would have been in the original problem.To make sure our answer makes sense, let's verify it through estimation.Our final answer of twelve is reasonable because fourteen point four divided by one point two should be a little less than fifteen.Now we can confidently place decimal points in division problems by remembering this principle.