What is 1 minus 1/8?

• A. 5/8
• B. 7/8
• C. -7/8
• D. 3/8

Answer: (B)

Subtracting fractions with the same denominator means subtracting the numerators while keeping the denominator unchanged. Represent 1 as eight pieces of the same size, so 1 equals 8/8. Subtracting one piece, you get 8/8 − 1/8 = 7/8. So the result is seven eighths. The other options would come from subtracting a different amount or miscounting the pieces, but this uses the same-sized pieces and the straightforward subtracting of the numerators.