Joshua surveys his friends to find out which recreational sport is most liked. He asks each of his friends if they prefer basketball, soccer, baseball, or volleyball. He finds 1/5

Question

of his friends like volleyball and 2/5
prefer soccer. How many of Joshua’s friends prefer volleyball and soccer over the other two sports?

Answer 1

Let \( x \) be the total number of Joshua's friends. According to the information given:

• The fraction of friends who prefer volleyball is \( \frac{1}{5}x \).
• The fraction of friends who prefer soccer is \( \frac{2}{5}x \).

To find out how many of Joshua's friends prefer volleyball and soccer combined, we simply add the two fractions:

\[ \text{Number of friends who prefer volleyball} = \frac{1}{5}x \] \[ \text{Number of friends who prefer soccer} = \frac{2}{5}x \] \[ \text{Total preferred (volleyball + soccer)} = \frac{1}{5}x + \frac{2}{5}x = \frac{3}{5}x \]

Thus, \( \frac{3}{5}x \) of Joshua's friends prefer volleyball and soccer combined over the other two sports (baseball and basketball). The exact number will depend on the total number of friends \( x \).

If you want specific values, you would need to know the total number of Joshua's friends.