A Puzzle A Day: 2026-04-08

On a school field trip to a historical site, the students are told to line up single file for a tour. To ensure everyone hears the guide, each student must stand exactly 2 feet away from the person in front of them. The first student stands right at the starting point of the measured line. If the entire line of students, from the first student's spot to the last student's spot, occupies a total length of 48 feet, how many students are in the tour group?
Correct: 25
This is a classic 'fencepost problem'. When students line up, there is one less gap than the number of students. If there are 'N' students, there are 'N-1' gaps between them. Each gap is 2 feet. The total length occupied by the line is 48 feet. So, we can set up the equation: (N-1) * 2 = 48. Dividing both sides by 2 gives N-1 = 24. Adding 1 to both sides, we find N = 25 students. A common trick is to simply divide 48 by 2, which gives the number of gaps (24) but forgets to add the first student.
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