Question #fe19f

1 Answer
Feb 4, 2017

x = 2/15

Explanation:

The answer to this question is the solution to the equation:

4/5 - x = 2/3

To combine the fractions, first find the least common factor of 3 and 5 by looking at the multiples of the largest number, and choosing the first one that is a multiple of the lower one. In our case, that least common factor is 15. Then, multiply the numerator and denominator of each fraction by the same number, to get equivalent fractions with 15 in the denominator, then subtract the resulting 10/15 from both sides:

12/15 - (15x)/15 - 10/15 = 0 => (12 - 15x - 10)/15 = 0

=> (2 - 15x)/15 = 0 => 2 - 15x = 0 => 15x = 2 => x = 2/15

Note that when we have a zero on one side, we can multiply both sides of the equation with the denominator to get rid of it, since the zero "absorbs" it (15 * 0 = 0)