Operation under which every pair of numbers
D and
d, called the
dividend (
D) and the
divisor (
d), is made to correspond to a new number called the
quotient (
Q) of these two numbers, so that
D =
d ×
Q.
The inverse operation of division is multiplication.
Notation
The symbol for division is "÷" which is read as "divided by".
Example
Consider the division of these whole numbers: 35 ÷ 7 = 5
The number 35 is the dividend, the number 7 is the divisor and the number 5 is the quotient.
Historical Note
The symbol ÷, called the
obelus or
obel (from the Greek term οβελοσ), was introduced by the Swiss mathematician
Johann Henrich Rhan in his treatise on algebra in 1659. He also introduced the symbol * as the symbol of multiplication.