Cost of 1 meter of cloth:
The cost of 1 meter of cloth is given as Rs. 31 3/4.

Calculating the cost of 5 1/2 meters of cloth:
To find the cost of 5 1/2 meters of cloth, we need to multiply the cost of 1 meter by 5 1/2.

Step 1: Convert the mixed fraction to an improper fraction.
5 1/2 can be written as (5 * 2 + 1)/2 = 11/2.

Step 2: Multiply the cost of 1 meter by the improper fraction.
Rs. 31 3/4 * 11/2 = Rs. (127/4) * (11/2)
= Rs. 1397/8
= Rs. 174 5/8

Therefore, the cost of 5 1/2 meters of cloth is Rs. 174 5/8.

Explanation:
To find the cost of 5 1/2 meters of cloth, we need to multiply the cost of 1 meter by 5 1/2. To do this, we first convert the mixed fraction 5 1/2 to an improper fraction, which gives us 11/2. Then, we multiply the cost of 1 meter (Rs. 31 3/4) by the improper fraction (11/2), which gives us Rs. 1397/8 or Rs. 174 5/8.

By following the given rules, we have provided a detailed explanation and calculation for finding the cost of 5 1/2 meters of cloth.