87 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 87 by to equal 16?
Solving 87 Divided by What Equals 16
Here’s how you would set up this question as an equation:
87
x
=
16
\frac{87}{x} = 16
x 87 = 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 87:
87
=
16
∗
x
87 = 16*x
87 = 16 ∗ x
Then we can isolate x on the right side of the equation by dividing both sides by 16:
87
16
=
x
\frac{87}{16} = x
16 87 = 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
=
5.438
x = 5.438
x = 5.438
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 12 equals 43?
42 divided by what equals 74?
What is 4/11 divided by 17?
What is 16/19 divided by 14/1?
What is 73 divided by 7/6?