Each "snack" was 8 pieces of candy, and there were 18 of them (plus 6 candies) to start with. Hence the starting number was ...
... 18×8 +6 = 144 +6 = 150
Each snack reduced that number by 8, so the candies remaining are
... c = 150 -8s
4(x + 7) + 5(x - 3) - 2x
4(x) + 4(7) + 5(x) - 5(3) - 2x
4x + 28 + 5x - 12 - 2x
4x + 5x - 2x + 28 - 12
9x - 2x + 16
7x - 16
This fraction reduced would be 1/7jk.
You can cancel the common factors of 5, j, and k from both the numerator and the denominator of the fraction to get this simplified fraction.
Hope this helps :)
