1/2 divided by what equals 3/8?

Here we will show you how to calculate "what" in this sentence: "1/2 divided by what equals 3/8?" We start by making this word problem into an algebraic equation where "what" is the variable "x".

(1/2) / x = (3/8)

To solve this equation, we want x alone so we start by multiplying x on both sides like this:

((1/2) / x)x = (3/8)x

Which equals:

(1/2) = (3/8)x

Then we divide each side by 3/8 to like this:

(1/2) / (3/8) = ((3/8)x) / (3/8)

(1/2) / (3/8) is 1 1/3 and ((3/8)x) / (3/8) leaves x which means we end up with x = 1 1/3. Therefore, the answer to "1/2 divided by what equals 3/8?" is as follows:

1 1/3

It is always good to double-check your math to make sure you did it right. When we entered 1 1/3 for x in this equation (1/2) / x = (3/8), we get the following true equation which means our math is correct.

(1/2) / (1 1/3) = (3/8)

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