Dividing Integers (Jump to: Lecture | Video )

4 / 2 = ?

How would you solve the above problem? To divide these integers, let's try using a number line:

Figure 1.

First, we locate how far "4" is from "0" in the number line. Next, we see how many times "2" fits into that distance. Here, we can see that "2" goes into "4" twice. Therefore:

4 / 2 = 2

A positive number divided by a positive number always results in a positive answer:

9 / 3 = 3

When a negative number is divided by another negative number, the result is always positive:

(-9) / (-3) = 3

When numbers with different signs are divided, the result is always negative:

(-9) / 3 = -3

9 / (-3) = -3