How Far Does a Bookworm Travel Through a 3-Volume Set?

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SUMMARY

The problem involves calculating the shortest distance a bookworm travels through a 3-volume set of books. Each volume consists of two covers, each ¼ inch thick, and a printed portion that is 1 inch thick. The bookworm starts at the first page of Volume 1 and ends at the last page of Volume 3. The total distance traveled by the bookworm is 1 inch, as it only needs to traverse the thickness of the printed pages without accounting for the covers.

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There is a 3-volume set of books
$\quad$on a bookshelf in the usual manner.

Each volume has two covers, each $\frac{1}{4}$ inch thick,
$\quad$and the printed portion is $1$ inch thick.

A bookworm starts at the first page of Volume 1
$\quad$and eats his way to the last page of Volume 3.

How far does the bookworm travel?

Before you ask: we want his shortest distance.)
.
 
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Hello, Evgeny.Makarov!

Absolutely correct!

If you have not seen the problem before,
. . good work!

Even if you had seen this problem before,
. . thank you for participating.

 

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