1/2 minus what equals 5/4?

Here we will show you how to calculate "what" in this sentence: "1/2 minus what equals 5/4?" We start by making this word problem into an algebraic equation where "what" is the variable "x".

1/2 - x = 5/4

To solve this equation, we want x alone on the left side of the equation so we start by subtracting 1/2 on both sides like this:

1/2 - 1/2 - x = 5/4 - 1/2

1/2 - 1/2 - x leaves -x and 5/4 - 1/2 is 3/4 which means we end up with -x = 3/4. Then, you multiply each side by -1 to get x = -3/4. Therefore, the answer to "1/2 minus what equals 5/4?" is as follows:

-3/4

It is always good to double-check your math to make sure you did it right. When we entered -3/4 for x in this equation 1/2 - x = 5/4, we get the following true equation which means our math is correct.

1/2 - -3/4 = 5/4

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