How do we do division with 1 by 500? Please explain with full steps.
How do we do division with 1 by 500? Please explain with full steps.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Division of 1 by 500: Full Steps and Explanation
We are solving: 1500 or 1÷500\frac{1}{500} \text{ or } 1 \div 500
Step-by-Step Process:
- Understand the problem:
- You’re dividing 1 (the dividend) by 500 (the divisor).
- This means: how many times does 500 go into 1?
- Set it up as long division: 1÷5001 \div 500 Since 500 does not go into 1, the answer will be less than 1 — a decimal.
- Write 1.000000 (add decimal places) and divide:
- 500 into 1 → 0 times ⇒ write
0. - 500 into 10 → 0 times
- 500 into 100 → 0 times
- 500 into 1000 → 2 times (because 2 × 500 = 1000)
- 500 into 1 → 0 times ⇒ write
- Perform the division:
- 2 × 500 = 1000 → subtract: 1000 − 1000 = 0
- No remainder
So, 1÷500=0.0021 \div 500 = 0.002
Final Answer:
0.002\boxed{0.002}
Explanation:
Division is the process of determining how many times one number is contained within another. In the expression 1÷5001 \div 500, you are trying to see how many groups of 500 can fit into 1. Since 500 is greater than 1, it clearly cannot fit even once, which means the result will be a number less than 1 — specifically, a decimal.
To carry out this division, we use long division. We rewrite the number 1 as 1.000000 by adding decimal zeros, which lets us keep dividing even when the integer part is zero. You then ask: how many times does 500 go into 10? Still zero. Into 100? Still zero. But when you reach 1000, you find that 500 goes into 1000 exactly 2 times.
So, 1÷500=0.0021 \div 500 = 0.002, because 500 fits into 1 only a tiny fraction of a time.
You can also understand this as a fraction: 1500=0.002\frac{1}{500} = 0.002
Fractions like this often result in terminating decimals, where the decimal representation ends after a certain number of digits. In this case, it ends at the third decimal place.
This type of calculation is useful in real-world contexts such as calculating probabilities, unit costs, interest rates, and measurements where very small values are involved. Understanding how to divide smaller numbers by larger ones helps build a strong foundation in decimals and ratios.
