Answer:
4
Step-by-step explanation:
Let's try this a different way than perhaps the usual way. Let r represent the reciprocal of the number.
r(1/r -1) -1/2r = 5/8
1 -r -1/2r = 5/8 . . . . . . eliminate parentheses
-3/2r = -3/8 . . . . . . . . collect terms, subtract 1
(-3/2)/(-3/8) = 1/r = 4 . . . . . divide by (-3/8)r because we actually want 1/r
The number is 4.
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Check
The reciprocal of the number is 1/4.
1 less than the original number is 4 -1 = 3. The product of these is 3/4.
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Half the reciprocal of the original number is (1/2)(1/4) = 1/8.
Then the difference between these is ...
3/4 -1/8 = (6 -1)/8 = 5/8 . . . . as required.
