38 Divided by What Equals 39?
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 39?
Solving 38 Divided by What Equals 39
Here’s how you would set up this question as an equation:
38
x
=
39
\frac{38}{x} = 39
x 38 = 39
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
=
39
∗
x
38 = 39*x
38 = 39 ∗ x
Then we can isolate x on the right side of the equation by dividing both sides by 39:
38
39
=
x
\frac{38}{39} = x
39 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
=
0.974
x = 0.974
x = 0.974
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 11 equals 9?
36 divided by what equals 17?
What is 5/20 divided by 78?
What is 9/7 divided by 19/12?
What is 84 divided by 1/16?