Final answer:
The missing partial product in James's multiplication problem of 38 by 55 is 1500. To find the final solution, we add all the partial products (1500, 150, 400, 40) together, resulting in 2090.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is performing a multiplication problem where James multiplies 38 by 55 and has found three of the four partial products: 40, 150, and 400. We need to determine the missing partial product. To find the solution, let's use the method of multiplication where each digit from one number is multiplied by each digit of the other number.
Let's break down 38 into 30 and 8, and 55 into 50 and 5:
It's clear that the missing partial product is 1500, which comes from 30 x 50. To get the final answer, we add up all the partial products: 1500 + 150 + 400 + 40, which equals 2090. So, the solution to the multiplication problem is 2090.