Dealing cards evenly
Deal 12 cards to 4 players and each gets 3 — you've just divided by sharing equally. Division is multiplication run backward: splitting a total into equal groups and asking how many land in each.
Sharing fairly
Division splits an amount into equal groups. 12 ÷ 3 asks 'if we share 12 things among 3, how many each?' The answer is 4. Division undoes multiplication, so they come in fact families.
12 ÷ 3 = 4 because 3 × 4 = 12
Fact families
From 3, 4, and 12 you get four facts: 3×4=12, 4×3=12, 12÷3=4, 12÷4=3.
Lab · Share the cookies
- Start with 15 cookies and 5 friends.
- Deal them out one at a time until they're gone.
- Count how many each friend has, then write the matching multiplication fact.
What you should see: 15 ÷ 5 = 3 each, because 5 × 3 = 15 — division and multiplication are inverses.