What is x when 42 divided by x equals 16?

To find the answer, just divide the dividend by the quotient: 42 ÷ 16 = 2.625

To prove this, let's compute 42 divided by 2.625: $\frac{42}{2.625} = 16$

How does it work?

Asking what the value of x could be when 42 divided by x gives a result of 16, is equivalent to solving the following equation:

$\frac{42}{x} = 16$

Multiply both sides by x: $\frac{42 x}{x} = 16 x$
$\frac{42 x}{x}$ is equivalent to $\frac{x}{x} \times 42$ , which simplifies to $1 \times 42$ (or just $42$ ).
Thus, the equation becomes: $42 = 16 x$
To find x, divide both sides by 16: $\frac{42}{16} = \frac{16 x}{16}$
Which gives, after simplification: $2.625 = x$ (or $x = 2.625$ )

So, if the dividend is 42 and the quotient is 16, the divisor is 2.625.