The length of the rectangle is 56 cm. The width is 7/8 of the length. Find the width of the rectangle.

This problem can be solved in 2 ways. The first way is through the specific unit by the proportion method:

56 – 8/8

x – 1/8

x = 56: 8 = 7 (so as not to waste time on fractions – we carefully look at the problem – 56 = 8/8 (or an integer in other words), so to find out the specific unit we divide the whole number by the denominator of the fraction, and in this case, it is example from the multiplication table)

If the specific unit is known, we can find out how much it is – 7/8 (width):

7 * 7 = 49

Answer: The width of the rectangle is 49 cm.

Method two (solution by fractions):

In the same way, we compose the proportion, but we no longer recognize the specific unit, but directly calculate the width of the rectangle:

56 – 8/8

x – 7/8

x = 56 * 7/8: 8/8 we write everything down in a column. Instead of 8/8, in this case, you can put a unit for the convenience of recording, this will not play an important role. Raise 56 to the wrong fraction 56/1, reduce 56 and 8 and get the following:

x = 7/1 * 7/1: 1

7/1 is a whole seven, get rid of the denominator, calculate further:

x = 49