If the parent formula needs to be worked backwards, what is the first step?

When working backwards through a formula, the first step typically involves reversing the operations that were originally applied to the variable. If you consider a situation where the formula involves multiplying as the initial step, to reverse this operation, one would need to divide by the same number that was previously multiplied.

For example, if you have a formula that expresses a value as a product of another value and a constant (e.g., (y = k \cdot x)), to isolate (x) and find its original value given (y) and (k), you will divide (y) by (k). This process of division effectively undoes the multiplication, making it the appropriate first step when working the formula backwards.

This is consistent with how algebraic manipulations work: when you want to isolate a variable or understand its original value before a specific operation, you must apply the inverse of that operation. Therefore, in this context, division is indeed the first crucial step in reversing a formula to uncover the original state of the data or value being manipulated.