divide: 3/5 divided by 1/3

Think: how many _________are in 3/5

1 answer

To divide the fractions \( \frac{3}{5} \) by \( \frac{1}{3} \), you can multiply by the reciprocal of the second fraction:

\[ \frac{3}{5} \div \frac{1}{3} = \frac{3}{5} \times \frac{3}{1} = \frac{3 \times 3}{5 \times 1} = \frac{9}{5} \]

So, \( \frac{3}{5} \) divided by \( \frac{1}{3} \) equals \( \frac{9}{5} \).

Now, thinking about how many \( \frac{1}{3} \) are in \( \frac{3}{5} \), you can interpret it as asking how many times \( \frac{1}{3} \) fits into \( \frac{3}{5} \). This is represented by the division we performed:

\[ \text{How many } \frac{1}{3} \text{s are in } \frac{3}{5}? \]

The answer is \( \frac{9}{5} \) or \( 1.8 \).