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6: Division

  • Page ID
    128147
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    The teacher said to the student, "Do the following division: \( 12 \div 3\)."

    The student replied, "But I don't know how to divide."

    Then the teacher asked, "Do you know how to subtract?"

    The student replied, "Sure, that's easy."

    Then the teacher said, "Well, then, you can divide. Just count how many threes you can subtract from twelve!"

    The student marveled at this notion. The student simply noticed 3 could be subtracted four times from 12, and answered, "Is \( 12 \div 3\) equal to 4?"

    The teacher said , "Yes! I knew you could divide. I'm very proud of you."

    The student was proud too...and very happy.


    This page titled 6: Division is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Julie Harland via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.