Two fifths of the instruments in the marching band are brass, one third are percussion, and the rest are woodwinds. What fraction of the band is woodwinds?

1 Answer
anor277
Nov 3, 2016

#4/15# of the band's instruments are woodwinds.

Explanation:

We need a common denominator to equate the #2/5#, and the #1/3# fractions. Clearly, we could express the fractions as #"fifteenths"#.

And thus #2/5-=6/15#, and #1/3-=5/15#.

The balance are woodwind instruments, i.e. #1-6/15-5/15=4/15#.

Related questions
See all questions in Understanding Fractions
Impact of this question
10063 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License