What is x when 42 divided by x equals 8?
In other words, what would the divisor be if the dividend were 42 and the quotient 8?
To find the answer, just divide the dividend by the quotient: 42 ÷ 8 = 5.25
To prove this, let's compute 42 divided by 5.25:
How does it work?
Asking what the value of x could be when 42 divided by x gives a result of 8, 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 8:
- Which gives, after simplification: (or )
So, if the dividend is 42 and the quotient is 8, the divisor is 5.25.