1/3 minus what equals 5/8?

Here we will show you how to calculate "what" in this sentence: "1/3 minus what equals 5/8?" We start by making this word problem into an algebraic equation where "what" is the variable "x".

1/3 - x = 5/8

To solve this equation, we want x alone on the left side of the equation so we start by subtracting 1/3 on both sides like this:

1/3 - 1/3 - x = 5/8 - 1/3

1/3 - 1/3 - x leaves -x and 5/8 - 1/3 is 7/24 which means we end up with -x = 7/24. Then, you multiply each side by -1 to get x = -7/24. Therefore, the answer to "1/3 minus what equals 5/8?" is as follows:

-7/24

It is always good to double-check your math to make sure you did it right. When we entered -7/24 for x in this equation 1/3 - x = 5/8, we get the following true equation which means our math is correct.

1/3 - -7/24 = 5/8

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