Friday, May 31, 2013

Aspect ratio

Movies and the screens we view them on typically come in two formats. Standard format has a 3:4 aspect ratio, meaning that the picture height is 3/4 of the picture width. Widescreen format has a 9:16 aspect ratio, so the picture height is 9/16 of the picture width. A widescreen movie shown on a standard screen has two horizontal black bars, one above and one below the picture. Likewise, a standard movie shown on a widescreen screen has vertical black bars on the sides. What percent of the viewing area is lost to the black bars when viewing a widescreen movie on a standard screen? How about when viewing a standard movie on a widescreen screen?

Friday, May 10, 2013

Perimeter is Area

A rectangle is 3 inches longer than it is wide. The value of it's perimeter in inches is the same as the value of its area in square inches. What is the width of the rectangle?