Divide both sides of the equation by 8: 8 8 x = 8 16 .
Simplify the equation: x = 8 16 .
Reduce the fraction: x = 2 .
The solution is: 2
Explanation
Understanding the Problem We are given the equation 8 x = 16 and our goal is to find the value of x that satisfies this equation.
Isolating x To isolate x , we need to divide both sides of the equation by the coefficient of x , which is 8. This gives us: 8 8 x = 8 16
Simplifying the Fraction Now, we simplify the equation: x = 8 16 x = 2
Examples
Imagine you're sharing 16 cookies equally among 8 friends. The equation 8 x = 16 helps you determine how many cookies each friend receives. In this case, x represents the number of cookies per friend. Solving the equation, you find that each friend gets 2 cookies. This concept applies to various real-life scenarios, such as distributing resources, calculating unit prices, or dividing tasks equally.