Final answer:
To find 5/6 of Jim’s number, first calculate the original number by multiplying 48 by the reciprocal of 2/3 to get 72. Then, multiply 72 by 5/6 to get the final answer, which is 60.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jim thinks of a number, and 2/3 of his number is 48. To work out 5/6 of Jim’s number, we need to first find Jim’s original number. Since 2/3 of the number is 48, we can multiply 48 by the reciprocal of 2/3 to find the whole number, which is 48 × 3/2 = 72. Now that we have the original number, we can calculate 5/6 of it. To do this, we multiply 72 by 5/6, which gives us 72 × 5/6 = 60.
This concept is similar to the intuitive understanding of fractions in relation to division and multiplication. For example, dividing by 8 is the same as multiplying by its reciprocal, 1/8. This understanding can help simplify and solve problems involving fractions.