If a 36 inches long strip cloth shrinks to 33 inches after being washed, how many inches long will the same strip remain after washing if it were 48 inches long?

$$\eqalign{ & {\text{Shrinking of cloth}}, \cr & = {\frac{{ {36 - 33} }}{{36}}} \times 100 \cr & = \frac{{100}}{{12}}\% \cr & {\text{Second time the strip shrinks,}} \cr & = \frac{{ {48 \times 100} }}{{1200}} \cr & = 4\,\text{inches} \cr & {\text{hence,}}\,{\text{the}}\,{\text{cloth}}\,{\text{remains}} \cr & = 48 - 4 \cr & = 44 \cr} $$