Gaps, spaces, intervals — however they may call it, they actually refer to the same thing.
Let’s take a look at an example 😉
Now the easiest way to remember the above basic formula and never forget it, is to take a look at our fingers!
2 fingers ➞ 1 gap 3 fingers ➞ 2 gaps -
- You get the drift. Number of gaps = Number of things - 1. (Pic 2) Here, we are given the distance of 1 gap (45m). There are a total of 5 gaps between the first and last (6th) tree, as 6 - 1 = 5. What this means is that in order to find the distance from the first to the last tree, we need to find the total distance of the 5 gaps. As such, the total distance is: 5 x 45m = 225m.
(Pic 3) A slight variation of the first, we are given the total distance between the 6 trees instead. To find 1 gap, 120 ÷ 5 = 24m.
We can also tweak the question to include lamp posts, flower pots, patterns etc... all of which belong to the same concept! Besides, they can apply to CUTS too.
Let’s give it a go at this question.
Anne takes 30 seconds to cut a log cake into 7 pieces. How long would she take to cut the same log cake into 3 pieces?
In this question, we are referring a “cut” to a gap. For Anne to cut the cake into 7 pieces, 6 cuts have to be made into the cake. This is similar to the formula mentioned earlier, Number of gaps = Number of things - 1.
Since Anne took 30 seconds to make 6 cuts, we can find how long she took to make 1 cut.
6 cuts ➞ 30 seconds
1 cut ➞ 30 ÷ 6 = 5 seconds
Next, to cut the log cake into 3 pieces she needs to make... 3 - 1 = 2 cuts. Since 1 cut takes 5 seconds,
2 cuts ➞ 2 x 5 seconds = 10 seconds
Thus, Anne would take 10 seconds to cut the same log cake into 3 pieces.
Hopefully by now, you will find the gaps concept as simple as it's supposed to be 😌
Comments