When we divide two integers we are trying to find out how
many objects will be in each group.
Example
If we have 20 / 4 (twenty divided by 4) we could rewrite this as
4 times what = 20. When we solve this equation we see that 4
times 5 equals 20 so 20 dived by four equals 5.
Just like integer multiplication we have rules that govern
integer division. Let’s start by thinking about a log that is 12
feet long, if we divide this log into 1 piece it will still be 12
feet long, so any number divided by 1 is that number. Now since a
log with no length, that is length equals 0, will not exist it is
impossible to divide by zero. So we say the result is undefined.
Just like in multiplication when we have two integers with different
signs we will get a negative integer, and when we have two integers
with the same sign we get a positive integer.
Example
Let’s now imagine a log that is 13 feet long, we want to divide
this log into 4 groups. You will see that we get 3 sections of log
that are 4 feet long and we have a 1 foot long section remaining. In
this case we say that 13 divided by 4 equals 3 with a reminder of
1.
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