A fashion store is having a sale advertising 'one third' off all prices. If a pair of trousers costs £54.24 in the sale, what did it cost before?

Answer:162.72

Step-by-step explanation:

Let's take the final price as x

What has been said is that before the sale, the price had been 3x, since the price would be three time higher. After the sale we divide the price by 3 and get price in the question. So, 53.24 multiplied by three is equal to the initial price before the sale. 1/3, just means that everything is cut off 3 times. You can prove this be adding 54.24, the price now, with two times itself or just multiplying 54.24 by three.