Timeline help--calculating spacing Help PLEASE!!!!! Driving my self insane...

[farmmom4him]

trying to get this right. :cursing::banghead::angry::smash::blushing: :willy_nilly:

 

I am going to need it to cover approx. 9030 yrs. (SOTW)

 

I have about 55 ft of space for this. I would like to break this down into 100 yr increments.

 

So, how many inches would 100 yrs be? This should be SOOOOOO simple, but I think I have tried so long to get everything "just" right that I literally have confused myself to blindness. :lol:

 

So, when you are done saying--man, how stupid can she be, would you please be kind enough to give me the answer and show me how for next time. :tongue_smilie:

 

THANKS!!!!!!

[Julie in Austin]

55 feet (wow--that's a lot!) is 660 inches.

 

If you want to cover 9030 years in 100 year increments, you'll have 91 increments (rounding up).

 

660 inches divided into 91 increments is 7 inches (rounding down) per increment.

 

So, seven inches per 100 years.

 

(Although just to further complicate things, I think SWB recommends--and I agree--that it is better to do different spacing for different time periods because not a lot happened in, say, 2000-1900 BC but you'll have dozens of good dates for 1800-1900 AD.)

[ConnieB]

Hmmm, this is what I get:

 

9030 years, divided by 100 year increments, means that you need 90.3 increments or units. To make my life easy, I'm rounding that to 90 increments.

 

You have 55 feet of space, so 90 divided by 55 would equal 1.63 feet per increments. Or about 19 1/2" per 100 years.

 

 

 

 

 

All that said, though....and I realize this may take you over the edge of sanity and I apologize in advance......but remember that the events of the first 4000 years of your timeline are ancients and we just don't have as much detail about those, so that half of your timeline will be sparse compared to the after "AD" portion. And even worse, when you get into the last 200-300 years, it gets so tight that you'll want to be sure to put it low enough on the wall to be able to do lots of strings upward to connect dates/events.

 

My suggestion, having been there done that....I'd probably give about 3 feet of space for everything before 1AD. I would not put 100 year increments, I'd simply put the year of the event (and since you won't have dates for much of it, I just worked to have them in semi-chronological order). You'd then have 52 feet for the last 2000 years, or about 31.2 inches per 100 years.

 

(That last math was 2000 years divided 100 year increments equals 20 increments/units. 52 feet x 12 inches is 624 inches total length, divided by 20 units).

[farmmom4him]

Thanks!!!!! Wahooooo!!! Thankyou so much!!!!!

[Tap]

Years covered/desired increments=total number of increments

9030/100=90.3 increments

 

(round up so your last section isn't short-I would put the extra space in the corners if you have them so your pictures aren't bent)

 

 

 

Total inches available/incremetnts=total inches per increment

55*12=660 inches

660/91=7.25 inches per increment of 100 years.

 

 

If you round down to 7 inches per increment you will have used 637 inches or 53 feet (this allows 2 feet of remaining unused space)

Edited August 6, 2009 by Tap, tap, tap

[Tap]

You have 55 feet of space, so 90 divided by 55 would equal 1.63 feet per increments. Or about 19 1/2" per 100 years.

 

The last step is reversed, ...the correct step would be divide 55ft by 90 segments to find out how many feet per segment.

 

This result of 19.5 inches per 100 years (91 segments) would equal roughly 147ft.

 

Half a football field.....Now that would be an impressive timeline :D