What is 2/5 - 3/8?

Here's how to subtract 3/8 from 2/5:

Step 1

We can't subtract two fractions with different denominators. So you need to get a common denominator. To do this, you'll multiply the denominators times each other... but the numerators have to change, too. They get multiplied by the other term's denominator.

So we multiply 2 by 8, and get 16.

Then we multiply 3 by 5, and get 15.

Next we give both terms new denominators -- 5 × 8 = 40.

So now our fractions look like this:

Step 2

Since our denominators match, we can subtract the numerators.

16 − 15 = 1

So the answer is:

Step 3

Last of all, we need to simplify the fraction, if possible. Can it be reduced to a simpler fraction?

To find out, we try dividing it by 2...

No good. 2 is larger than 1. So we're done reducing.