PLEASE HELP ME.

1/5 of bees flew to a cherry tree, 1/3 flew to a clover tree, and 3 times the difference of these 2 numbers buzzed over to a stand of heather. 3 flew around the hive circling and protecting the bee community. The question is, how many bees were there altogether?

First add up the fractions:

1/5 cherry tree
1/3 clover tree
difference = 1/3-1/5=(5-3)/15=2/15
3 times the difference = 2*3/15=2/5
What's left
=1-(1/5+1/3+2/5)
=(15-(3+5+6))/15
=1/15
So 3 bees equal 1/15 of the (small)colony.
Therefore
3*15 equal 15/15=whole colony.

To find the total number of bees, we need to add up the number of bees that went to each location and then subtract the bees that flew around the hive circling and protecting the bee community.

Let's break it down step by step:

1. Let's start with the 1/5 of bees that flew to the cherry tree. To find this number, we need to calculate 1/5 of the total number of bees. Mathematically, it can be represented as follows:

Number of bees at the cherry tree = Total number of bees * (1/5)

2. Next, let's calculate the 1/3 of bees that flew to the clover tree. Similarly, we need to calculate 1/3 of the total number of bees:

Number of bees at the clover tree = Total number of bees * (1/3)

3. Now let's determine the number of bees that flew to the heather stand. The question states that "3 times the difference of these 2 numbers buzzed over to a stand of heather." We can calculate this by finding the difference between the number of bees at the cherry tree and the number of bees at the clover tree, multiplying it by 3, and adding it to the total number of bees:

Number of bees at the heather stand = Total number of bees + ((Number of bees at the cherry tree) - (Number of bees at the clover tree)) * 3

4. Finally, to find the total number of bees, we need to subtract the 3 bees that flew around the hive circling and protecting the bee community:

Total number of bees = Number of bees at the cherry tree + Number of bees at the clover tree + Number of bees at the heather stand - 3

By following these steps, we can calculate the total number of bees.