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: \[ \boxed{126 \frac{2}{5}} \text{ feet}. \]