The division sign resembles a dash or double dash with a dot above and a dot below (÷). It is equivalent to the words "divided by." This symbol is found mainly in arithmetic texts at the elementary-school level. It is rarely used by professional or academic mathematicians, scientists, or engineers.
Mathematically, the division sign is equivalent to the forward slash. Thus, for example, 4 ÷ 5 = 4/5 = 0.8, and -100 ÷ 10 = -100/10 = -10. In general, for any real number x and any nonzero real number y , the following is always true:
x ÷ y = x / y
The division sign is also mathematically equivalent to the ratio symbol, customarily denoted by a colon (:) and read "is to." Thus, for any real number x and any nonzero real number y , this equation holds:
x ÷ y = x : y
Na maioria dos computadores compatíveis com IBM, o símbolo de divisão pode ser gerado ativando a função NUM LOCK, mantendo pressionada a tecla ALT, e inserindo 246 no teclado numérico localizado na extremidade direita do teclado. O sinal de divisão aparece quando a tecla ALT é liberada. Esta técnica funciona na maioria dos processadores de texto, e mesmo em alguns gráficos e programas DOS.
Veja também Símbolos Matemáticos .