Final answer:
To find the number of laps Julio swam in the pool, if he swam 3/8 less than Carla's x laps, the equation is J = (5/8) * x, where J represents Julio's laps.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question asks for an equation to represent how many laps Julio swam if Carla swam x laps in the pool and Julio swam 3/8 less than Carla. To find the number of laps Julio swam, you can set up an equation subtracting 3/8 of x (the number of laps Carla swam) from x. The equation is:
Julio's laps = x - (3/8) * x
You can solve this by combining like terms, which results in Julio swimming 5/8 of the number of laps Carla swam. Hence, if we denote J as the number of laps Julio swam, the equation can be simplified to:
J = (5/8) * x