Number of Evenly Spaced Objects

The Number of Evenly Spaced Object calculator computes the number (n) of objects that can be evenly spaced (oC) over a  Length (L).

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose units and enter the following:

• (oC)  on Center spacing between the objects (e.g., 16" spacing of studs)
• (L) Total length over which the objects are being spread (e.g. 24 feet)

Number of Evenly Spaced Objects (n): The calculator returns the number of objects that can be spread over the length.  If the length can not be evenly divided by the spacing, the calculator also returns the value for an evenly distributed spread. 

The Math

The counting of evenly spaced objects calculation is fairly easy.   However, people typically fail to account for the first object.  So, if you want to spread 4 posts (n) out to create a fence 24 feet long (L), you can not spread them out where spread = 24 ft/4.  This forgets that the first post is at position zero.    You a have to reduce the number of posts by one for the first post.  In this case, the calculation would be 24 ft/3 (3 = n-1), which 8 ft separation.