Final answer:
To divide 3 1/2 by 4, convert the mixed number to an improper fraction (7/2), then multiply by the reciprocal of 4 (1/4) to get 7/8 as the result.
Step-by-step explanation:
The calculation you are looking to perform is 3 1/2 divided by 4. To do this, you first need to convert the mixed number 3 1/2 to an improper fraction. This can be done by multiplying the whole number by the denominator of the fraction part and then adding the numerator. So, 3 times 2 plus 1 equals 7, which makes our improper fraction 7/2. Now, to divide by 4, you can multiply by the reciprocal of 4, which is 1/4. Therefore, the operation you want to perform is 7/2 multiplied by 1/4.
To multiply two fractions, multiply the numerators (top numbers) to get the new numerator and multiply the denominators (bottom numbers) to get the new denominator. So, 7 multiplied by 1 is 7, and 2 multiplied by 4 is 8, giving us the fraction 7/8 as the result
In conclusion, 3 1/2 divided by 4 is equal to 7/8.