Dividing Fractions

In class we used models to develop an algorithm for dividing fractions.  Below is an example of  model we used.

Notice that our quotient is larger than either number in our division problem.  This because we are dividing a value less than one into another number.

Click on this link for a great site that helps you visualize operations with fractions. http://www.visualfractions.com/ When you are on the site click on "Divide" at the upper right.

Using the models we found that we can take our divisor and flip it to multiply to our dividend.  We you "flip" the second fraction this is called multiplying by the reciprocal.  The reciprocal is simply the fraction flipped.  Click the image that follows for an explanation of why multiplying by the reciprocal works. 

Here are two Khan Academy videos to sum it all up.

For those of you who are brave, here is dividing positive and negative fractions.