You can put this solution on YOUR website! This problem is typical of the last step in solving many equations, so you really need to
understand how to do it and why.
.
You are given:
.
.
What you do is to divide both sides of this equation by the number that multiplies the unknown.
In this case, y, the unknown, is multiplied by 16 so you divide both sides by 16 as follows:
.
.
On the left side the 16 in the denominator goes into the 16 in the numerator 1 time. So
on the left side you are left with 1 times y as follows:
.
.
This means that left side is reduced to just y and therefore the equation is simplified to:
.
.
And on the right side the denominator 16 goes into the numerator 64 four times. After this
division you have reduced the equation to:
.
.
And that is the answer to the problem, y equals 4.
.
After you are familiar with problems like this you can work this problem in your head by
telling yourself, "Divide both sides by 16. The left side becomes y and the right side
is 64 divided by 16 which is 4 ... so y equals 4."
.
Hope this helps you to understand this important process that you follow for common problems
of this type.
.
(