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:
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:
- Multiply both sides by x:
- is equivalent to , which simplifies to (or just ).
- Thus, the equation becomes:
- To find x, divide both sides by 3:
- Which gives, after simplification: (or )
So, if the dividend is 42 and the quotient is 3, the divisor is 14.