A bag contains a number of small balls.  1/4 of the balls are green, 1/8 are blue, 1/12 are yellow and the remaining 26 white. How many balls are blue?

To solve this problem, we first need to understand that the fractions given for the green, blue, and yellow balls all add up to a fraction of the total number of balls. The remaining balls are white.

1. First, add up the fractions for the green, blue, and yellow balls: 1/4 (green) + 1/8 (blue) + 1/12 (yellow) = 6/24 + 3/24 + 2/24 = 11/24.

2. This means that 11/24 of the total number of balls are either green, blue, or yellow. Since the remaining balls are white, this means that 13/24 of the total number of balls are white.

3. We know that the number of white balls is 26. So, 13/24 of the total number of balls equals 26.

4. To find the total number of balls, we can set up the equation (13/24)X = 26, where X is the total number of balls. Solving for X gives us X = 26 * (24/13) = 48.

5. Now that we know the total number of balls, we can find out how many are blue. Since 1/8 of the total number of balls are blue, there are (1/8) * 48 = 6 blue balls.