SOLUTION: At a party, 1/3 of the guests drank only soda, and 2/5 of the guests drank only juice. If the remaining 16 guests had nothing to drink, then how many guests were at the party?

Algebra ->  Numeric Fractions Calculators, Lesson and Practice -> SOLUTION: At a party, 1/3 of the guests drank only soda, and 2/5 of the guests drank only juice. If the remaining 16 guests had nothing to drink, then how many guests were at the party?       Log On


   

Question 1183841: At a party, 1/3 of the guests drank only soda, and 2/5 of the guests drank only juice. If the remaining 16 guests had nothing to drink, then how many guests were at the party?
Answer by Edwin McCravy(20055) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!

1/3 + 2/5 = 5/15 + 6/15 = 11/15ths of the guests drank soda or orange juice.

That left 1 - 11/15 = 15/15 - 11/15 = 4/15 who had nothing to drink.

Let x represent the number of guests: 

expr%284%2F15%29x+=+16

Multiply both sides by the reciprocal 15/4:

expr%2815%2F4%29expr%284%2F15%29x+=+expr%2815%2F4%2916

x=60

There were 60 guests.

Edwin