1/8 + 1/3 don't have a common denominator, so you can't divide it yet until the denominators are the same. To make the denominators the same, you would:
1. Find the prime factors of 8 and 3. 3 is already prime, so you don't need to do anything to it, but 8 isn't prime, and its prime factors are 2x2x2.
2. You rewrite the fraction problem as 1/2x2x2 and 1/3 stays the same.
3. To make the denominators the same, you need to add a 3 to 1/2x2x2. That would look like 1/2x2x2x3. And then you need to add 2x2x2 to 1/3, so that's 1/2x2x2x3, and the fractions are the same!
4. Since you added a 3 to the denominator of the first fraction (1/8), you need to do the same for the numerator. So that would look like 1x3/2x2x2x3. You do the same for the other fraction, but you put in a 2x2x2 to the numerator instead. So that would look at 1x2x2x2/2x2x2x3.
5. Next you multiply it. 1x3 is just 3, and 2x2x2x3= 24. So then you have 3/24. As for the other fraction, 1x2x2x2=8, and 2x2x2x3 is still 24.
6. With these new fractions (3/24 and 8/24), you can finally add them together since the denominators are the same! The denominators stay the same, and you add the numerators: 3+8=11, so you have 11/24.
7. In this case, 11/24 is the simplest answer, but sometimes in other problems you need to simply the fraction before you're actually done.
The answer is 11/24.
