Question

Pover DESIGN In Exercises \(14-16\), you want the cover of a sports media guide to show two photos across its width. The cover is \(6 \frac{1}{2}\) inches wide, and the left and right margins are each \(\frac{3}{4}\) inch. The space between the photos is \(\frac{1}{2}\) inch. How wide should you make the photos? Draw a diagram of the cover.

Short answer

The photos should each be \(2 \frac{1}{4}\) inches wide.

Step-by-step solution

Convert all measurements to the same unit

The total cover width and the margins are provided in inches and fractions of an inch. First, it's important to convert all measurements to the same unit for consistency. Here, all measurements are converted to fractions of an inch. The total width of the cover is \(6 \frac{1}{2}\) inches which is equal to \(\frac{13}{2}\) inches.

Sum up the spaces taken by margins and between photos

Sum the left and right margins, and the space between the photos. So, the total space taken up by the margins and between the photos equals \(2 \times \frac{3}{4}\) inches (margins) + \(\frac{1}{2}\) inch (space between photos) = \(\frac{3}{2}\) inches + \(\frac{1}{2}\) inch = 2 inches.

Calculate the width for the photos

Subtract the total space taken by the margins and between the photos from the total cover width to get the total space for the photos. So, the total available space for the photos equals \(\frac{13}{2}\) inches - 2 inches = \(\frac{9}{2}\) inches. Since there will be two photos across the width, the width of each photo is \(\frac{9}{2}\) inches divided by 2, which gives us \(\frac{9}{4}\) inches or \(2 \frac{1}{4}\) inches.