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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by otter@lemmy.ca to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

For some of these, I estimate the number of items the base and then multiply by the height. Is there a better strategy, especially for items that don't fit into distinct layers?

Original post crossposted from !dailygames@lemmy.zip: https://piefed.social/post/1205620

Guess here: 🔗 https://estimate-me.aukspot.com/archive/2025-08-29

If you'd like to discuss your guesses, please use spoiler tags!

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[-] anyhow2503@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago
  1. Set lower bound by counting how many are visible in the photo
  2. Grow disinterested
  3. Guess some number above the result from step 1
[-] rowinxavier@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Start with the bottom, count how many are visible on the lowest layer. This gives you half the circumference of the lower end.

Repeat for the highest part of the cup that is still cup, not above the line.

Multiply each of these by 2 and you have the circumferences of each end of the cut cone.

Rearrange the circle area formula to get the radius from circumference and you have the radius of each end of the cone.

Now use the cut cone formula to calculate the volume in terms of hazelnuts.

Next, take the radius of the top circle and estimate how far above that the highest nut is. Use whatever formula seems more appropriate, in this case maybe just a right angle triangle formula with a full rotation, to estimate the volume of the top.

Sum that together with the conic volume and you have a good estimate.

My estimate, at least 3 hazelnuts.

Good luck

[-] LemmyFeed@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 week ago

I would look at them and pull a number out of my ass.

[-] Uli@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago

None, that's a jar.

[-] TheCriticalMember@aussie.zone 1 points 1 week ago

For a tapered section like that, you could estimate bottom and top layers and then average them. Then estimate height and multiply. You'd want to include an overlap factor as the roughly spherical nuts would settle in between each other somewhat. I'd imagine there's some accepted value out there for that.

[-] CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This is what I did. Roughly 5 wide at the bottom and 7 wide at the top or roughly 12 nuts per layer average. Then the stack appears to be about 12 nuts high so 144 total and maybe round up to 150 since it's heaping at the top.

Edit: I didn't initially see OP's link to the site and I call complete bullshit on that 'correct' answer without seeing them poured out and counted on video. According to it, my answer is off by several hundred.

[-] wjrii@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

A = pi(r^2) is a hell of a drug.

[-] CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

Only when it jives with a sensible guesstimation.

Without outright spoiling the answer, according to the site, roughly every visible hazelnut in the image makes up just 16% of the total. If my guess of 12 layers is roughly accurate, every visible hazelnut only makes up two layers of the total which doesnt seem correct.

Considering this is a user submitted puzzle with zero verification (as far as I know), the simplest answer is that they gave a fake/incorrect number.

[-] brian@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago

Not sure where you'd land at 12 nuts per layer on average. If you go off 5 nuts "wide" as your diameter you'd end up with at least 20 nuts at the bottom layer (area = π(5/2)² = 19.6).

[-] ryannathans@aussie.zone 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I was 8 off, notbad

Used cylinder volume formula using hazelnuts as units

[-] wjrii@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I don't math so good, so I roughly counted layers and used the formula for area of a circle, reduced slightly for gaps. First guess was a good 10%-15% off but got within 12 on the second. Then I seriously overcorrected on my third.

[-] ryannathans@aussie.zone 2 points 1 week ago

Nice work. Cylinder volume is just area of circle multiplied by height, nothing too fancy. Imagine a circle being extruded by one dimension (height)

[-] AmidFuror@fedia.io -1 points 1 week ago

This is a 2D image of a cup of hazelnuts. The number is just the ones you can see. The ones you can't see aren't part of the image.

this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2025
3 points (80.0% liked)

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