Solution:
To solve the question, we need to assume there is a proportional relationship between $$ b $$ and $$ a $$. Given that $$ b = 8 $$ when $$ a = 16 $$, we can say that $$ b $$ is half the value of $$ a $$ in this context.Using this proportionality, if $$ a = 18 $$, we can calculate the value of $$ b $$ by halving $$ a $$:\[ b = \frac{a}{2} \]\[ b = \frac{18}{2} \]\[ b = 9 \]Therefore, if $$ a = 18 $$, then $$ b = 9 $$.