How many candies in a bowl?

Aug 20 2018 AndrewBudd Last modified Nov 11, 2024

Halloween will soon be here, which can only mean one thing - you're about to start finding candy EVERYWHERE. You'll find it in your couch cushions. You'll find it under your coffee table. They'll inject themselves into your life in a way that will be hard to get away from - luckily they're so delicious that you won't really mind that much.

Halloween ALSO means that you're about to start seeing more of those contents where you have to guess the number of Candies in Bowl or Container. Many schools and even offices use this as a fun way to get into the holiday spirit and give people the chance to win a little money at the same time. Now, you may be asking yourself - "How does Jim from Accounting always guess the right number of Candy Corns within like 10 beans? He does it every year! Is he psychic? Is he a time traveler? Is he cheating?"

None of the above (well, we can't rule out the time traveler thing, actually). Jim is probably just using our good old friend "Math" to his advantage and now, thanks to this helpful calculation, you can, too. The following equation will give you a VERY good estimate o the number of Jelly Beans and other candies that are in a particular bowl, so long as you can make a fair guess at the dimensions. In point of fact, it's a whole lot easier than you probably think it is, too.

Now, what's say we win a little money from our friends, shall we?

The Candies

One of the most important steps to take when counting the candies in a bowl is to make sure you know exactly what you're dealing with. A Jelly Bean is a different size and shape than a Jumbo Jelly Bean, which itself is different from something like an M&M or even a Gum Ball. This all dramatically affects the number of candies that can fit in a container, which will definitely affect the end results.

You'll also need to know how many candies come in the type of container that is being used for the game. 930 Jelly Beans fit in a gallon, for example, while 3991 plain M&Ms fit in a gallon. 1264 Gum Balls fit in a gallon, while 1248 Peanut M&Ms fit in a gallon, and finally, 3,500 mini jelly beans (Jelly Belly size) fit in a gallon container.

The Jar

Next, you'll need to carefully consider what type of jar or container is being used for a particular game, as obviously a larger bowl can always fit more candies than a smaller jar. For the following equation to work, you'll need to consider options like:

Jar or Cylinder
Rectangular Containers
Spherical Containers
Tapered Rectangular Bowls
Tapered Round Bowls
Irregular Containers

Because of these variations, you'll never be able to guess the EXACT number of Jelly Beans or other candies in the container. However, you're going to be able to get pretty darn close.

Sweet, Delicious Math

Our equation begins by first finding the volume of the container based on the shape it uses. If you're dealing with a rectangular container, the answer is simple - you just multiply the length by the width by the height. If you're dealing with a cylinder jar, things are a little different - you need to know things like the diameter across the type and the height. It's not difficult, but you do have to make sure you're calculating volume correctly or you'll be done before you started and Jim will walk away with all those delicious candies yet again.

We don't want to see that happen. Jim has had his fun - it's time for you to walk off into the sweet, candy sunset.

So let's say that your office is holding a contest where as many Jelly Beans as possible are crammed into a rectangular jar with a height of 5 inches, a depth of 6 inches and a length of 5 inches. Congratulations - you now have access to everything you need to cement your reputation as "Superior Office Candy Guesser" for all time. Take that, Jim!

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.

Using the following calculator, all you have to do is plug in your dimensions, select your candy type and you're off to the races. Using the previously described containers, approximately 604 Jelly Beans can fit into something of that exact size and shape.

There are also a number of other calculators that you can use based on the specific jar you're working with, as well as the specific type of candy. Just mix and match based on the situation that you find yourself in and you're good to go! It doesn't get much sweeter than that, does it?