Question

Celinda thought of 89.5 in parts, 80 + 9 + 0.5, and divided each part: 80 ÷ 10 = 8; 9 ÷ 10 = or 0.9; 0.5 ÷ 10 = 0.05. Then she added the parts to get 8.95. What do you notice?

Answer 1

Dividing each part into 10 and then summing the results up, is equivalent to dividing 89.5 into 10.

Explanation:

This example refers to the Distributive Property of the division, which is valid when the dividend is decomposed.

A simple example could be: 400 ÷ 10 = (200 ÷ 10) + (200 ÷ 10)

In the exposed example we know that 89.5 = 80 + 9 + 0.5.

• Option 1

(80/10) + (9/10) + (0.5/10) =

8 + 0.9 + 0.05=

8.95

• Option 2

89.5/10 = 8.95