1/2 plus what equals 3/8?

Here we will show you how to calculate "what" in this sentence: "1/2 plus what equals 3/8?" We start by making this word problem into an algebraic equation where "what" is the variable "x".

1/2 + x = 3/8

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 = 3/8 - 1/2

1/2 - 1/2 + x leaves x and 3/8 - 1/2 is -1/8 which means we end up with x = -1/8. Therefore, the answer to "1/2 plus what equals 3/8?" is as follows:

-1/8

It is always good to double-check your math to make sure you did it right. When we entered -1/8 for x in this equation 1/2 + x = 3/8, we get the following true equation which means our math is correct.

1/2 + -1/8 = 3/8

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