In a cafeteria,
3
-
8
of the students are eating salads , and
1
-
4
are eating sandwiches. there are 24 students in the cafeteria. how many students are eating lunches other than salads or sandwiches?

First, you would want to find the common denominator

3/8 (salads) = 3/8

1/4 (sandwiches) = 2/8

add them together to find out how much students and eating either salads or sandwiches

3/8 + 2/8 = 5/8

this means 5/8 of 24 students are eating either salads or sandwiches

24 students = 24/24 as a fraction

find the common denominator of 5/8 and 24/24

24/24 = 24/24

5/8 = 15/24

the final answer would be that 15 students out of 24 are eating a lunch other than a salad or sandwich