Division

Along with addition, subtraction and multiplication, it is one of the four fundamental operations of arithmetic

Division is a binary operation defined as the inverse of multiplication. More precisely, dividing a number a by a number b other than zero means finding a third number c which, when multiplied by b, yields a. In symbols, 𝑎 ÷ b = c if and only if b × c = a. For example, 18÷6 = 3 because 6×3 = 18.

The three numbers have specific names. The dividend is the quantity to be divided; the divisor is the number by which it is divided; the quotient is the result of the operation. In the division 18÷6 = 3, 18 is the dividend, 6 the divisor, and 3 the quotient.

Splitting into groups

From an intuitive point of view, division can be thought of as the distribution of a totality of objects into groups of equal size. In this sense, it answers the question: How many groups of size y can I create having x elements available? Or, if I create y groups with x elements available, how large will each group be? For example, if I have 20 marbles and divide them into 4 groups, how many marbles will each group contain? The answer, that is, the quotient of division 20÷4, is 5.