38 Divided by What Equals 17?
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 38 by to equal 17?
Solving 38 Divided by What Equals 17
Here’s how you would set up this question as an equation:
38
x
=
17
\frac{38}{x} = 17
x 38 = 17
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 38:
38
=
17
∗
x
38 = 17*x
38 = 17 ∗ x
Then we can isolate x on the right side of the equation by dividing both sides by 17:
38
17
=
x
\frac{38}{17} = x
17 38 = 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
=
2.235
x = 2.235
x = 2.235
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 85 equals 76?
77 divided by what equals 32?
What is 15/16 divided by 36?
What is 2/11 divided by 4/14?
What is 6 divided by 9/3?