What is x when 42 divided by x equals 3?

In other words, what would the divisor be if the dividend were 42 and the quotient 3?

To find the answer, just divide the dividend by the quotient: 42 ÷ 3 = 14

To prove this, let's compute 42 divided by 14: 42 14 = 3

How does it work?

Asking what the value of x could be when 42 divided by x gives a result of 3, is equivalent to solving the following equation:

42 x = 3

  1. Multiply both sides by x: 42 x x = 3 x
  2. 42 x x is equivalent to x x × 42 , which simplifies to 1 × 42 (or just 42 ).
  3. Thus, the equation becomes: 42 = 3 x
  4. To find x, divide both sides by 3: 42 3 = 3 x 3
  5. Which gives, after simplification: 14 = x (or x = 14 )

So, if the dividend is 42 and the quotient is 3, the divisor is 14.