I want tons of Halloween candy
I’m going to order my Halloween bag online this year. I found these choices and I want lots and lots of
candy. I wonder which container will hold the most candy? To find out, I might find the volume that each
bag will hold.
1. Before calculating any volumes take a minute and look over the dimensions of each container.
Take an educated guess as to which bag/can/container will hold the most candy and write your
guess here.
13 inches x 5 inches x 13 inches
Width: 12 inches by Height: 15 inches by Gusset (side panel): 3 inches
This one I have from last year. My mom and I made it from an old paint can.
8 inches diameter x 10 inches tall
My grandmother made this bag for me a few years ago. It is supposed to be a
candy corn. I think it’s kind of corny (LOL!) but it does hold a lot of candy.
It is cone shaped and has an upper diameter of 8 inches and is 18 inches tall (not
including the handle).
5-1/2 inches x 5-1/2 inches x 4-1/2 inches
(Very tricky one – I guess this is a sort of a sphere minus the volume of the top 1
inch)
Since we could pile the candy above the rim of the globe, let’s just call it a sphere.
Even more tricky!
Top rim dimensions: 6" diameter x 5.25" height Base dimensions: 4.25" diameter
2. Before you start calculating volumes you will need to make sure that you express volumes with the
correct units. When you are finding a volume should you express the volume in units of length,
square units or cubic units?
3. Calculate each container’s approximate volume. Make sure to show how you found each volume
and express each with correct units. You can show your work beside the photo of each container.
4. My friend found the volume of the first bag by finding something called the base area and then
multiplying by the height. She says the base area is 13 x 5 = 65 square inches and then she
multiplied by the height, which is 13 inches. I simply multiplied the length by the width by the
height. Who is finding the volume correctly? How do you know?
5. Many of the candies that I get from trick or treating, such as mini candy bars, are about 2 inches by
1 inch by 1 inch. What is the volume of one of these candies?
Lets assume the volume of the candy that you found in the previous problem is the average volume of all
of the candies that I get on Halloween. I’m going to carefully pack my candies into my container while I’m
walking around. I think I can get more candy that way.
6. Which container should I choose to fit the greatest amounts of candy in? Assuming that I don’t
waste any space in my container, about how many candies can I fit in the largest of the trick or
treat containers?
7. I am going to give my little brother the container that holds the least amount of candy.
a. Which container should I give him?
b. How much more volume will my container hold than his?
c. How many more candies should I be able to hold than him?
There are a few treats that I won’t eat. My mom doesn’t let me eat homemade cookies or fruit when I
don’t know the person who gave them to me. I really don’t like mint anything … but my little brother does.
8. If I will not keep15% of my candy, how many pieces of candy will I still have?
9. Now I am wondering what my Halloween candy is worth. My friend said that she thinks each
candy is worth about a quarter (25 cents). Assuming that each candy is worth about a quarter, that
I used the container that holds the most candy and that I gave up 15% of my candy, how much is
my remaining candy worth?
Brought to you by Yummymath.com. Happy Halloween!