Answer:
First we need to find a common denominator;
3 1/4 and -5/8 have a common denominator of 8
-5/8 already has 8 now we alter 3 1/4 to have 8 as the denominator as well.
if we make 3 1/4 into an improper fraction we would get 13/4
13/4 x 2/2 = 26/8, because 2 x 4 = 8 so we also apply that to the numerator
Now we have;
26/8 - (-5/8)
the two negatives combine to make a positive:
26/8 + 5/8
= 31/8 which simplifies to
3 7/8