1Cademy - Finding the Quotient $$-72a^7b^3 \div (8a^{12}b^4)$$

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Dividing Monomials

Example

Finding the Quotient $-72a^7b^3 \div (8a^{12}b^4)$

Divide two monomials that contain multiple variables: $-72a^7b^3 \div (8a^{12}b^4)$ .

Step 1 — Rewrite as a fraction. $\frac{-72a^7b^3}{8a^{12}b^4}$

Step 2 — Separate using fraction multiplication. $\frac{-72}{8} \cdot \frac{a^7}{a^{12}} \cdot \frac{b^3}{b^4}$

Step 3 — Simplify and use the Quotient Property. For the coefficients: $\frac{-72}{8} = -9$ . For $a$ : $\frac{a^7}{a^{12}} = \frac{1}{a^5}$ . For $b$ : $\frac{b^3}{b^4} = \frac{1}{b}$ . Combining these gives: $-9 \cdot \frac{1}{a^5} \cdot \frac{1}{b}$ .