Solve for a -1/2+a=5/8

$- \frac{1}{2} + a = \frac{5}{8}$

Step 1

Add $\frac{1}{2}$ to both sides of the equation.

$a = \frac{5}{8} + \frac{1}{2}$

Step 2

To write $\frac{1}{2}$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{4}{4}$ .

$a = \frac{5}{8} + \frac{1}{2} \cdot \frac{4}{4}$

Step 3

Write each expression with a common denominator of $8$ , by multiplying each by an appropriate factor of $1$ .

Multiply $\frac{1}{2}$ by $\frac{4}{4}$ .

$a = \frac{5}{8} + \frac{4}{2 \cdot 4}$

Multiply $2$ by $4$ .

$a = \frac{5}{8} + \frac{4}{8}$

Step 4

Combine the numerators over the common denominator.

$a = \frac{5 + 4}{8}$

Step 5

Add $5$ and $4$ .

$a = \frac{9}{8}$

Step 6

The result can be shown in multiple forms.

Exact Form:

$a = \frac{9}{8}$

Decimal Form:

$a = 1.125$

Mixed Number Form:

$a = 1 \frac{1}{8}$