How do you work out 2439.6 divided by 4.28?

Answer 1

570

Answer 2

To divide by a decimal, make the divisor a whole number by multiplying it by 10 as many times as necessary; then multiply the dividend by the same amount of 10s. Now do the division.

In this case, the divisor 4.28 to be made a whole number needs to be multiplied by 10 twice (ie by 100): 4.28 x 10 = 42.8, 42.8 x 10 = 428. So multiply the dividend 2439.6 by the same number of 10s: 2439.6 x 10 = 24396, 24396 x 10 = 243960.

So the division to work out is 243960 / 428.

This can be done by direct long (or short) division, but prior simplification can make the final division easier:

243960 and 428 both divide by 2, so 243960 / 428 = 121980 / 214.

Again both divide by 2: 121980 / 214 = 60990 / 107.

The divisor is now fairly easy to work with, so do the division 60990 / 107 = 570.

In this case 107 is a prime, so no further simplification is possible and the division has to be done.