What is the smallest value of $x$ that satisfies the equation $8x^2 - 38x + 35 = 0$? Express your answer as a decimal.
I notice that this equation is quadratic, so I could try to factor it or use the quadratic formula. This gives me two possible values for $x$, namely $x = \frac{38 + 18}{16} = 3.5$ and $x = \frac{38 - 18}{16} = 1.25$. Therefore, the smallest value of $x$ that satisfies the equation is 1.25. 