3/8 minus what equals 5/1?

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

3/8 - x = 5/1

To solve this equation, we want x alone on the left side of the equation so we start by subtracting 3/8 on both sides like this:

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

3/8 - 3/8 - x leaves -x and 5/1 - 3/8 is 4 5/8 which means we end up with -x = 4 5/8. Then, you multiply each side by -1 to get x = -4 5/8. Therefore, the answer to "3/8 minus what equals 5/1?" is as follows:

-4 5/8

It is always good to double-check your math to make sure you did it right. When we entered -4 5/8 for x in this equation 3/8 - x = 5/1, we get the following true equation which means our math is correct.

3/8 - -4 5/8 = 5/1

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