5 Divided by What Equals 32?
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 5 by to equal 32?
Solving 5 Divided by What Equals 32
Here’s how you would set up this question as an equation:
5
x
=
32
\frac{5}{x} = 32
x 5 = 32
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 5:
5
=
32
∗
x
5 = 32*x
5 = 32 ∗ x
Then we can isolate x on the right side of the equation by dividing both sides by 32:
5
32
=
x
\frac{5}{32} = x
32 5 = 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
=
0.156
x = 0.156
x = 0.156
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 48 equals 92?
39 divided by what equals 66?
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What is 9/13 divided by 19/2?
What is 86 divided by 7/11?