3/5 minus what equals 5/8?

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

3/5 - x = 5/8

To solve this equation, we want x alone on the left side of the equation so we start by subtracting 3/5 on both sides like this:

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

3/5 - 3/5 - x leaves -x and 5/8 - 3/5 is 1/40 which means we end up with -x = 1/40. Then, you multiply each side by -1 to get x = -1/40. Therefore, the answer to "3/5 minus what equals 5/8?" is as follows:

-1/40

It is always good to double-check your math to make sure you did it right. When we entered -1/40 for x in this equation 3/5 - x = 5/8, we get the following true equation which means our math is correct.

3/5 - -1/40 = 5/8

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