I don't know how to solve this problem. Please help me!!

Question

5 / x = 20 / 8

I am supposed to solve for x, but I don't know how.

Answer 1

Here are my recommended steps for solving this problem:

5 / x = 20 / 8

5 / x = 5 / 2, Simplify

5 = 5x / 2, Multiply both sides by x in order to isolate.

10 = 5x, multiply both sides by 2 to get rid of the 2 in the denominator.

2 = x.

Answer 2

5 / x = 20 / 8

5 / x = 5 / 2, reduce (we could stop here, x = 2)

5 = 5x / 2, multiply both sides by x

10 = 5x, multiply both sides by 2

2 = x

Answer 3

A good way to do this kind of problem is to cross-multiply:

So for 5/x = 20/8, multiply 5 times 8 = 20 times x

That's 40 = 20 x

Then divide both sides by 20 and get x = 2.

This is the right answer. 5/2 = 20/8. These are equivalent fractions.