42 plus what equals 87?

This is how to calculate "42 plus what equals 87?" In other words, 42 plus a number equals 87. What is that number? We start by converting this word problem into an equation where "what" is what we want to solve:

42 + what = 87

To solve this equation, we first add -42 to each side of the equal sign like this:

42 - 42 + what = 87 - 42

Then, we do the calculation to get the answer to "42 plus what equals 87?" as follows:

What = 45

The answer to "42 plus what equals 87?" is 45. You know this answer is correct because 42 plus 45 equals 87.

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42 plus what equals 88?
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