2/1 plus what equals 1/2?

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

2/1 + x = 1/2

To solve this equation, we want x alone on the left side of the equation so we start by subtracting 2/1 on both sides like this:

2/1 - 2/1 + x = 1/2 - 2/1

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

-1 1/2

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

2/1 + -1 1/2 = 1/2

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