The student council at Sugartown Middle School is planning a school dance. 3/5 of the budget is needed for the DJ, and 1/4 of the budget is needed to pay for the chaperones. What part of the budget is left to pay for decorations and snacks? Express your answer in simplest form.
The fraction of the budget needed for the DJ is 3/5 and the fraction of the budget needed for the chaperones is 1/4. The fraction of the budget left for decorations and snacks can be found by subtracting these fractions from 1.
1 - 3/5 - 1/4
To find a common denominator, we multiply the first fraction by 4/4 and the second fraction by 5/5:
1 - (3/5)(4/4) - (1/4)(5/5)
= 1 - 12/20 - 5/20
Now we can subtract the fractions:
1 - 12/20 - 5/20
= (20/20) - (17/20)
= 3/20
Therefore, there is 3/20 of the budget left to pay for decorations and snacks.