Skill: Interpret fractional remainders

When a division problem has a remainder, compare the remainder with the divisor to write the remainder as a fraction:

$$\text{remainder fraction}=\frac{\text{remainder}}{\text{divisor}}$$

Example

Suppose $17$ feet of ribbon is divided equally among $4$ people. How much ribbon does each person get?

1. Divide $17$ by $4:

$$17\div 4=4\text{ remainder }1$$

2. The quotient is $4$, and the remainder is $1$.

3. Since the divisor is $4$, write the remainder as $\frac14$:

$$17\div4=4\frac14$$

Each person gets $\boxed{4\frac14}$ feet of ribbon.

The context matters. If $17$ objects are being placed into groups of $4$ and every group must be full, the remainder means one more group is needed, so the answer would be $5$ groups.