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38 votes
38 votes
-7/8 - (-h) = -7/12
solve for h
pls show work

User Prabhat Singh
by
2.6k points

1 Answer

7 votes
7 votes

Answer:

The answer is 7/24.

Explanation:

I attached a picture, but I'll try to walk through it here.

1) A negative and a negative makes a positive, so h becomes positive.

2) I added 7/8 to both sides, in order to "isolate the variable", which simply means to get h by itself, on one side of the equation (you'll likely hear it said both ways).

3) I multiplied 7/8 by 3/3, and multiplied -7/12 by 2/2. This is known as a common denominator, which in this case is 24. You can only add and subtract fractions that have a common denominator.

4) Multiply both of the fractions to get 21/24 + (-14/24). "Adding a negative" is the same thing as subtracting.

5) 21 - 14 = 7, and since our denominators are the same, the answer is 7/24.

You can confirm the answer by substituting, or "plugging" 7/24 into your original equation, in place of h.

User Startuprob
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2.6k points