# How to Divide Fractions

To divide fractions, multiply the first fraction by the reciprocal of the second fraction. For example, 2/3 ÷ 4/5 would be changed to 2/3 x 5/4. The result, in its simplest form, is 5/6.

Dividing Fractions

## Dividing Fractions

To divide fractions, multiply the first fraction by the reciprocal of the second fraction, or copy, change, flip. Copy your first fraction, 2/3, change division to multiplication, and flip the last fraction to 5/4. Then, we multiply just like we would any time we multiply fractions.

We can multiply across numerators and then our denominators, or we could simplify it first by dividing both 2 and 4, the numerator of this fraction and the denominator of this fraction, by their GCF of 2. 2 divided by 2 is 1, and 4 divided by 2 is 2.

Now, you just multiply across 1 times 5 is 5, and 3 times 2 is 6. Since we simplified before we multiplied, our fraction is already in simplest form, 5/6. However, if it weren’t then you would need to simplify it. One more, again we’re going to copy the first fraction, change division to multiplication, and then flip our fraction.

Copy 5/7, change division to multiplication, and flip 1/3 to 3/1. Now we can just multiply our numerators and multiply our denominators. In this fraction, there’s nothing I could cross cancel.

5 and 1 don’t have a GCF and of anything other than 1, and 3 and 7 don’t have a GCF of anything other than one, so we just multiplied across. 5 times 3 is 15, and 7 times 1 is 7. This is an improper fraction so to change it to a mixed number we first divide 15 by 7, which gives us 2, 7 goes into 15 two times, that would be 14 with one leftover, over our denominator of 7. 2 and 1/7.

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by Mometrix Test Preparation | Last Updated: August 15, 2019