3/9 minus what equals 1/2?

Here we will show you how to calculate "what" in this sentence: "3/9 minus what equals 1/2?" We start by making this word problem into an algebraic equation where "what" is the variable "x".

3/9 - x = 1/2

To solve this equation, we want x alone on the left side of the equation so we start by subtracting 3/9 on both sides like this:

3/9 - 3/9 - x = 1/2 - 3/9

3/9 - 3/9 - x leaves -x and 1/2 - 3/9 is 1/6 which means we end up with -x = 1/6. Then, you multiply each side by -1 to get x = -1/6. Therefore, the answer to "3/9 minus what equals 1/2?" is as follows:

-1/6

It is always good to double-check your math to make sure you did it right. When we entered -1/6 for x in this equation 3/9 - x = 1/2, we get the following true equation which means our math is correct.

3/9 - -1/6 = 1/2

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