Let x be the original price of the refrigerator.
Since Alex bought the refrigerator for 2/5 of the original price, we can express that amount algebraically as:
[tex]\frac{2}{5}x[/tex]
On the other hand, he paid $400. Then, we can write down the equation:
[tex]\frac{2}{5}x=400[/tex]
To solve the equation, multiply both members by 5 to get rid of the denominator on the left member:
[tex]\begin{gathered} \Rightarrow5\times\frac{2}{5}x=5\times400 \\ \Rightarrow2x=2000 \end{gathered}[/tex]
Next, divide both members by 2 to get rid of the factor of 2 that multiplies x:
[tex]\begin{gathered} \Rightarrow\frac{2x}{2}=\frac{2000}{2} \\ \Rightarrow x=1000 \end{gathered}[/tex]
Therefore, the original price of the refrigerator was $1000.