To divide 4 by 1/5 we can either multiply the first fraction by its reciprocal OR we could find a common denominator for both fractions. In this video we'll use the reciprocal method. Both methods produce the same answer in fraction form.
First we change 4 ÷ 1/5
to
4 times 5/1 (4 x 5/1)
This gives us 20/1 which is equal to 20.
So 4 ÷ 1/5 = 20/1 also written as 20.
Note that if you multiplied 20 times 1/5 you would end with 4.
Multiplying a fraction by its reciprocal is often easier for more complicated fractions where finding a common denominator is more challenging.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9CHtJkOeDro/maxresdefault.jpg)