72 Divided by What Equals 16?
Methods
Setting up the problem:
In a problem like this, the “what” means that we’re working with a variable. The most common variable used in math is “x”. So we could say what number, x can we divide 72 by to equal 16?
Solving 72 Divided by What Equals 16
Here’s how you would set up this question as an equation:
72
x
=
16
\frac{72}{x} = 16
x 72 = 16
The goal of the problem is to solve for x. To do this we need to change the equation so that x is alone on one side of the equation.In this case, it can be done in two steps. The first step is to multiply both sides by x to isolate 72:
72
=
16
∗
x
72 = 16*x
72 = 16 ∗ x
Then we can isolate x on the right side of the equation by dividing both sides by 16:
72
16
=
x
\frac{72}{16} = x
16 72 = x
When we simplify the new equation, we can solve for x. In this example, we will round to the nearest three decimal places if that’s needed.
x
=
4.500
x = 4.500
x = 4.500
Practice Other Division Problems Like This One
If this problem was a little difficult or you want to practice your skills on another one, give it a go on any one of these too!
What divided by 22 equals 91?
14 divided by what equals 60?
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What is 17/14 divided by 3/4?
What is 83 divided by 13/10?