The method to divide fractions is to keep the first fraction the same, turn the divide sign into a multiply and turn the second fraction upside down. This is known as multiplying by the reciprocal.

In multiplying fractions, you simply multiply straight across the numerator and straight across the denominator. If you have "a" divided by "b" times "c" divided by "d," that just equals "a" times "c" ...

“Who would draw a picture to divide 2/3 by 3/4?” asked Marina Ratner, a professor emerita of mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley, in a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

This summer, battle lines were drawn over a simple math problem: 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = ? If you divide 8 by 2 first, you get 16, but if you multiply 2 by (2 + 2) first, you get 1. So, which answer is right?

Looking at this fraction is a little bit different than looking at the other complex fractions that we've dealt with. However, we can make it look like the other complex fractions. But first of all, ...