Candies In A Jar - VCalc

The Candies in a Jar calculator computes the approximate number of candies (see list below) that can be found in a jar.

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose units and enter the following:

• (d) Diameter of Inside of Jar
• (h) Height of Candy in Jar

Candies in a Jar (JB): The calculator returns a very good estimate of the number of:

• Mini Jelly Beans
• Jelly Beans
• Jumbo sized Jelly Beans
• M&Ms
• Peanut M&Ms
• Gum Balls
• Candy Corn
• Pumpkin Candies
• Skittles
• Mini Tootsie Rolls (Midges)
• Candy Hearts

... candies in the container. This is useful to guess how many jellybeans are in a jar.

The Math

People are not good a making estimates of the number of small objects in a volume, such as in this example.  This calculator goes about it scientifically.  First, the input parameters are used to compute the volume of the container holding the candies. This is a straight forward computation of the Volume of a Cylinder (CLICK HERE).  

Density of Candy

The math behind Candies in Container calculators is pretty straight forward. We use basic Euclidean (3D) geometry to compute the volume of the containers based on their shapes. Once we know the volume, we are able to make reasonable estimates based on an average number of candies in a known volume. We (Issac and Poppy) bought large bags of the different types of candies and our candy expert (see picture) measured them in kitchen measuring bowls. Then we counted the number of candies and did the math to get the estimated number of candies in a gallon container. Here the results.

The Candies in a Container calculator uses the following densities of candies:

• Mini Jelly Beans: 3,500 mini Jelly Bean candies in a gallon.
• Jelly Beans: 930 Jelly Beans in a gallon
• Jumbo Jelly Beans: 736 Jumbo sized Jelly Beans in a gallon
• M&Ms: 3991 plain M&Ms in a gallon.
• Peanut M&Ms: 1248 Peanut M&Ms in a gallon
• Gum Balls: 1264 Gum Balls in a gallon.
• Candy Corn: 1524 kernels of candy corn in a gallon
• Candy Pumpkins: 378 pumpkin candies in a gallon
• Skittles: 3600 Skittles in a gallon
• Tootsie Roll Midgees: 296 Tootsie Roll Midges in a gallon
• Candy Hearts: 1900 Candy Hearts in a gallon

These are only an estimates, because the candy manufactures may vary the sizes of the candies, but this is a decent estimate of the average size of the different candies and your guess, using these calculators, will be much less of a guess.

Candies in a Container Calculators

The following calculators let you enter the dimensions of the container and return the number of candies for a list of different types of candies including: mini Jelly Bean, Jelly Beans, Jumbo sized Jelly Beans, M&Ms, Peanut M&Ms, Gum Balls, candy corn, pumpkin candies, Skittles, Tootsie Roll Midgees.

Candy Bowl Shape Calculators

• Candies in a Jar
• Candies in a Rectangular Container
• Candies in Spherical Container
• Candies in Tapered Rectangular Container
• Candies in Tapered Round Bowl
• Candies in Mason Jar
• Candies in Curved Bowl
• Candies in Irregular Container

Specific Candies

• Mini Jelly Beans in a Jar - Jelly Bellies are mini jelly beans.
• Jumbo Jelly Beans in a Jar
• M&M's in a Jar
• Peanut M&M's in a Jar
• Gum Balls in a Jar
• Jumbo Jelly Beans per Gallon
• M&M's per Gallon
• Peanut M&M's per Gallon
• Gum Balls per Gallon
• Candies in a Mason Jar
• Jelly Beans in a Mason Jar
• Mini Jelly Beans in a Mason Jar - Jelly Bellies are mini jelly beans.
• Jumbo Jelly Beans in a Mason Jar
• M&M's in a Mason Jar
• Peanut M&M's in a Mason Jar
• Gum Balls in a Mason Jar
• Candy Hearts in a Mason Jar

When you win ...

1. Give some of your winnings to Charity, and 
2. give vCalc a shout-out on social media.

References

• Light and Matter(Dr. Benjamin Crowell) Chapter 1.4 Order of magnitude estimates
• vCalc Blog: Counting Jelly Beans.  It's not cheating, just math.