Evaluate the expression 3/8 + 2/3 - 1/2 and reduce to lowest terms.

To understand why the expression evaluates to 13/24, let’s break down the addition and subtraction of these fractions step by step.

Begin with the expression:

3/8 + 2/3 - 1/2.

To perform the addition and subtraction, the first step is to find a common denominator for the fractions involved. The denominators are 8, 3, and 2. The least common multiple (LCM) of these numbers is 24.

Next, convert each fraction to an equivalent fraction with a denominator of 24:

• For 3/8:

[

3/8 = (3 \times 3) / (8 \times 3) = 9/24

]

• For 2/3:

[

2/3 = (2 \times 8) / (3 \times 8) = 16/24

]

• For 1/2:

[

1/2 = (1 \times 12) / (2 \times 12) = 12/24

]

Now substitute these equivalent fractions back into the original expression:

9/24 +