Why does $1/0.5$ equal $2$?

Question

I would like to know, in $1/0.5 =2$ why does $1/0.5$ yield $2$.

I want to know a conceptual explanation, not merely a method how to get the answer.

If you are able to explain this in example using image that would be super helpful!

My understanding is if you divide one whole pizza we get $2$ halves slice of pizzas which is $1/2$. So, $1/0.5 = 2$ mean you will get $2$ whole pizza?

Answer 1

First of all you need to understand what fractions are and what they mean intuitively. This might act as a good beginning.

This discussion on Maths SE is quite helpful but goes a bit beyond what you require I think.

Multiple ways which might feel intuitive to you (specific to the question you asked)-

1. How many halves of a cake do you require to make a full cake? (An illustrative example of what Imranfat mentions in the comments)

2. If you have two glasses half filled with water what happens if you put them in one glass? Or conversely how many glasses of water which are half filled are required to fill a glass of water?

Answer 2

If I say $6/2$, I ask for the number of times that the number $2$ fits into $6$. The answer is $3$, because I can add $2$ three times to get $6$, i.e. $2+2+2=6$. This is the same as saying that $2\cdot 3 = 6$.

So the answer to $6/2$ is the number with the property that when multiplied by $2$ (the denominator), I get $6$ (the numerator).

The same is true for $1/0.5$. The answer is the number with the property that when multiplied by $0.5$ (the denominator), I get $1$ (the numerator). So I need to figure out what number I can multiply by $0.5$ to get $1$. Or how many times $0.5$ fits into $1$.

Since $0.5+0.5=1$, the answer to $1/0.5$ is $2$. Or saying the same thing in a different way, because $0.5\cdot 2 = 1$, the answer to $1/0.5$ is $2$. The number $2$ is the number with the property that when multiplied by the denominator ($0.5$), I get the numerator ($1$).