Question

Fill in the blanks using appropriate fractions:

$\frac{5}{8}-\_\_\_=\frac{3}{8}$

Answer 1

Step 1: Subtract $\frac{5}{8}$ from both sides of the given equation and simplify.

$\frac{5}{8}-\_\_\_-\frac{5}{8}=\frac{3}{8}-\frac{5}{8}$

$-\_\_\_=\frac{3}{8}-\frac{5}{8}$

Step 2: Subtract the numerators and write the difference over the common denominator.

$$\begin{gathered} -\_\_\_=\frac{3-5}{8} \\ -\_\_\_=-\frac{2}{8} \end{gathered}$$

Step 3: Multiply both sides of the equation by $-1$.

$\_\_\_=\frac{2}{8}$

Step 4: Divide both the numerator and denominator by the common factor $2$.

$$\begin{gathered} \_\_\_=\frac{2÷2}{8÷2} \\ \_\_\_=\frac{1}{4} \end{gathered}$$

Hence, the required number is $\frac{\mathbf{1}}{\mathbf{4}}$.