Question

Mike bungee-jumped from a building with eight stories. Each story was 15 4/5 feet in height. How tall was the building?

Answer 1

To find the total height of the building, we need to multiply the height of each story by the number of stories.

First, convert the mixed number \(15 \frac{4}{5}\) into an improper fraction.

1. The whole number is 15, which can be converted to a fraction with a denominator of 5:
\[
15 = \frac{15 \times 5}{5} = \frac{75}{5}
\]

2. Now, add the fractional part \( \frac{4}{5} \):
\[
15 \frac{4}{5} = \frac{75}{5} + \frac{4}{5} = \frac{79}{5}
\]

The height of one story is \( \frac{79}{5} \) feet.

Now, since there are 8 stories, we multiply this by 8:
\[
\text{Total height} = 8 \times \frac{79}{5}
\]

Calculating this gives:
\[
8 \times \frac{79}{5} = \frac{8 \times 79}{5} = \frac{632}{5}
\]

Now we can convert \( \frac{632}{5} \) to a mixed number.

1. Divide 632 by 5:
\[
632 \div 5 = 126 \quad \text{with a remainder of } 2.
\]

Thus, \( \frac{632}{5} \) can be expressed as:
\[
126 \frac{2}{5}
\]

So, the height of the building is:
\[
\boxed{126 \frac{2}{5}} \text{ feet}.
\]