Language of Division Sign
Difference in Meaning and Saying
Think about division. What does it mean?
Write down all the words you can think of that have the same meaning as the division sign.
Share your words with a classmate. Write down different words you hear.
Now, write the ways people say this sign in a math problem.
Multi-Word Ways to say the Division Sign
That’s right! There are no one-word ways to say division.
Here is the first phrase.
- divided by
For example,
14 ÷ 2 is said as, “14 divided by 7 “
20 : 4 is “20 divided by 4”
78 / 39 “78 divided by 39”
Your Turn — Practice using the phrase “divided by” in division operations.
Before we continue with another phrase, let’s identify the parts of a division operation.
For example,
12 ÷ 4
These two numbers must be in order.
The first number, 12, is called the “dividend”. It will be the number that is divided in a division operation. This number will get smaller after the math calculation.
The second number, 4, is called the “divisor”. It is the number that will divide the first number.
Writing a division operation using the obelus (÷), the forward slash ( \ ), or the color ( : ) the first number must be the dividend, and the second number is the divisor.
Using these symbols is very convenient when a calculator is used. The division operation, 12 ÷ 4, is the exact order you put into the calculator.
Let’s look at the long division symbol.
4 ⟌12
Notice the numbers–the divisor and the dividend–are in opposite order. The divisor is written first then the dividend is second on the right side of the long division sign.
English is read from left to right. In language, it is possible to talk about the divisor first.
For example,
4 ⟌12 can be said as, “four divided into 12”.
6 ⟌12 is said as, “six divided into 12”.
2 ⟌12 is “two divided into 12”.
Can you guess the second phrase for a division operation?
- divided into
Your Turn — Practice using the phrase “divided into” in a division operation
Another general phrase is also commonly used.
- goes into
For example:
3⟌12 can be said as, “three goes into 12”.
6 ⟌18 is said as, “six goes into 18”.
2 ⟌14 is “two goes into 14”.
Your Turn — Practice with the phrase “goes into” for a division operation
We will learn about other phrases in the Word Problems chapter later in this book.
Summary
- There are three phrases used for a division operation
- divided by
- divided into
- goes into
- There is a different order of the dividend and divisor between the obelus, slash, colon signs for division (÷ , / , : ) and the long division sign ( ⟌ )
- The division phrases identify the order required by the division signs
