Which shows the correct way to use the rule “multiply by the reciprocal” for the expression below?

7 divided by StartFraction 5 Over 8 EndFraction
StartFraction 1 Over 7 EndFraction times StartFraction 5 Over 8 EndFraction = StartFraction 5 Over 56 EndFraction
StartFraction 7 Over 1 EndFraction times StartFraction 5 Over 8 EndFraction = StartFraction 35 Over 8 EndFraction
StartFraction 1 Over 7 EndFraction times StartFraction 8 Over 5 EndFraction = StartFraction 8 Over 35 EndFraction
StartFraction 7 Over 1 EndFraction times StartFraction 8 Over 5 EndFraction = StartFraction 56 Over 5 EndFraction

1 answer

To use the rule "multiply by the reciprocal" for the expression \( 7 \div \frac{5}{8} \), you first need to convert the division into a multiplication by the reciprocal of the fraction you are dividing by.

So, we start with: \[ 7 \div \frac{5}{8} \]

This can be rewritten as: \[ 7 \times \frac{8}{5} \]

Now, we can express 7 as a fraction: \[ \frac{7}{1} \times \frac{8}{5} = \frac{7 \times 8}{1 \times 5} = \frac{56}{5} \]

Now we can evaluate the given options:

  1. \( \frac{1}{7} \times \frac{5}{8} = \frac{5}{56} \) (incorrect)
  2. \( \frac{7}{1} \times \frac{5}{8} = \frac{35}{8} \) (incorrect)
  3. \( \frac{1}{7} \times \frac{8}{5} = \frac{8}{35} \) (incorrect)
  4. \( \frac{7}{1} \times \frac{8}{5} = \frac{56}{5} \) (correct)

Therefore, the correct way to apply the rule "multiply by the reciprocal" for the expression \( 7 \div \frac{5}{8} \) is:

\( \frac{7}{1} \times \frac{8}{5} = \frac{56}{5} \)