Mr Foster places 11 garden lights along an 80-meter path. Each light is placed an equal distance apart. How far away is the sixth light from the second?

Question

 Mr Foster places 11 garden lights along an 80-meter path. Each light is placed an equal distance apart. How far away is the sixth light from the second?

Answer 1

Let's start with a simple example. Say you have 3 lights along a 2m path. You would have two at each end and then the third one will be right in the middle. Which would make those three lights 1 m apart, like this: *   *   *. See the pattern: you take one light away, making the number of lights 2, over two meters and you get each light is 1 m away.

In your example, it's the same logic: you place 1 light at the beginning and you have 10 more over 80 m, which will mean each new light will be 8 m away from the previous one or from the next one. And then between the second and the sixth, there will be 'second-to-third' = 8 m, 'third-fourth' = 8 m, 'fourth-to-fifth' = 8 m, and 'fifth-to-sixth' = 8 m, which makes 32 m. Or simpler: use your hand, each finger will be a light-post, if your pinkie is #2, your thumb is #6, you have 4 gaps total between your fingers. Each is 8 m, thus 8*4=32 m