Introduction

Children at the basic level(Primary) learn better from first hand experiences.It is the concept learnt at the primary level that forms a
concrete image in the minds of the students .That is why this module is prepared in such a way to leave a permanent mark in the minds
of students.

Division is the fundamental arithmetic operation that is the inverse of multiplication. As everybody is aware that, the concept of
division must be introduced only after the introduction of addition, subtraction and multiplication .

In other words, division is nothing but, it is the repeated subtraction. Division is splitting into equal parts or groups. It is the result of
"fair sharing". Division also imparts knowledge about comparison of two quantities such as comparing the ages of two people and
expressing it in the form of a ratio.

Objectives

After going through this content you will be able to:

1. understand the concept/meaning of division

2. understand the concept/meaning of multiplication
3. understand the steps involved in the process of division
4. distinguish between repeated addition and repeated subtraction
5. develop the application skills of division in daily life

Contents

History of Arithmetic Operations

It is the method known as the "method of the Indians" or in Latin "Modus Indoram" that has become our arithmetic today. Prior to
this, basic aritmetic operations was a highly complicated affair. 7th century Syriac Bishop "Severus Sebhokt" mentioned this method
and stated that the method of the Indians is beyond description. Indian arithmetic was much simpler than the Greek arithmetic simply
due to the simplicity of the Indian number system which had a zero and place value notation. Arabs learnt this new method and called
it "Hindasa" or "Hindu Science". Fibonacci or Leonardo of Pisa is one of the first European mathematicians who introduced the
"Method of the Indians" to Europe. In his famous book "Liber Abaci" Fibonacci says that compared to this new method all other
methods was a mistake.

The prehistory of arithmetic is limited by a very small number of small artifacts indicating a clear conception of addition and
subtraction, the best-known being the Ishango Bone from Africa, dating from 18,000 BC.

It is clear that the Babylonians had solid knowledge of almost all aspects of elementary arithmetic circa 1850 BC, although historians
can only infer the methods utilized to generate the arithmetical results (see Plimpton 322). Likewise, definitive addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division facts are used within the unit fraction system, which can be found in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus
dating from Ancient Egypt circa 1650 BC, copied from 1850 BC sources.

In the Pythagorean school, in the second half of the 6th century BC, arithmetic was considered one of the four quantitative or
mathematical sciences (Mathemata). These were carried over in mediæval universities as the Quadrivium which, together with the
Trivium of grammar, rhetoric and dialectic, constituted the septem liberales artes (seven liberal arts).

Modern algorithms for arithmetic (both for hand and electronic computation) were made possible by the introduction of Hindu-Arabic
numerals and decimal place notation for numbers. Hindu- Arabic numeral based arithmetic was developed by great Indian
mathematicians Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta and Bhaskara. Aryabhatta tried different place value notations and Brahmagupta added zero
to the Indian number system. Brahmagupta developed modern multiplication, division, addition and subtraction based on Hindu-
Arabic numerals. Although it is now considered elementary, its simplicity is the culmination of thousands of years of mathematical
development. By coThe propagation of a plant by separating it into two or more pieces, each of which has at least one bud and some
roots.ntrast, the ancient mathematician Archimedes devoted an entire work, The Sand Reckoner, to devising a notation for a certain
large integer. The flourishing of algebra in the medieval Islamic world and in Renaissance Europe was an outgrowth of the enormous
simplification of computation through decimal notatiA