Add the whole numbers first: 2+3+2=7. To add the fractions, ask yourself what number do 4, 2 and 6 all go into. These are the denominators, or bottoms, of the three fractions. We need the lowest number, called the lowest common denominator. The answer is they all go into 12. How many ttimes does each go into 12? 4 goes 3 times; 2 goes 6 times; 6 goes 2 times. 3/4 is 3*3/12 (we multiply the top part of the fraction by the number of times 4 goes into 12), 1/2 is 6/12 and 1/6 is 2/12. We can now add these fractions together because they all have the same denominator: 9+6+2 all over 12. That makes 17/12. 17 is bigger than 12 and would be written as whole number 1 with 5 over, that's 5/12. The whole number 1 has to be added to the 7 we got before by adding the whole numbers together. Now we have 8 and the 5/12 left over after dividing 12 into 17. That's how your class got the answer 8 and 5/12.