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Difficulty: MediumStandard Measurement and Layout Tools

A fabricator is using a pair of layout dividers to step off and mark 55 equally spaced hole centers in a straight line on a metal workpiece. The total distance from the center of the first hole to the center of the fifth hole is 14 inches14\text{ inches}. What is the required divider setting, in inches, between consecutive hole centers?

Answer: 3.5 inches

Answer

The divider points must be set to 3.5 inches3.5\text{ inches}.
The correct answer is 3.5 inches3.5\text{ inches} because 55 equally spaced hole centers define 44 equal intervals along the line (5−1=45 - 1 = 4). Dividing the 14-inch14\text{-inch} span by 44 gives exactly 3.5 inches3.5\text{ inches} per interval.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the number of equal intervals between the hole centers.
There are 44 intervals between 55 collinear points (5−1=45 - 1 = 4).
When stepping off positions with dividers between defined endpoints, the number of intervals is always one less than the number of points.
2
Divide the total measured span by the number of intervals.
14 inches4=3.5 inches\frac{14\text{ inches}}{4} = 3.5\text{ inches}
Equal divider spacing requires distributing the total span across the 44 equal intervals.

Key Concept

Using layout dividers to step off equal intervals along a layout line
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Standard Measurement and Layout Tools

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