42 Divided by What Equals 40?
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 42 by to equal 40?
Solving 42 Divided by What Equals 40
Here’s how you would set up this question as an equation:
42
x
=
40
\frac{42}{x} = 40
x 42 = 40
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 42:
42
=
40
∗
x
42 = 40*x
42 = 40 ∗ x
Then we can isolate x on the right side of the equation by dividing both sides by 40:
42
40
=
x
\frac{42}{40} = x
40 42 = 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
=
1.050
x = 1.050
x = 1.050
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 74 equals 43?
34 divided by what equals 3?
What is 2/14 divided by 4?
What is 7/19 divided by 8/18?
What is 41 divided by 16/13?