Question:


How many tennis balls can you fit tightly inside "all usable free
space" of the passenger area of a 2005 Mini Cooper, (hardtop model)
motor vehicle?

Considering that:

a).- The balls are made of plastic and are aproximately 15% larger
than regular tennis balls,

and that 

b).- These are fully packed at about 95% capacity into the passenger
area of the vehicle only? (In other words, the trunk is empty and not
used at all for this storage purpose).

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.-

a).- The exact interior dimensions of the Mini Coooper model can be found at:
http://www.miniusa.com/link/ourcars/features/cooper_s/interior/cockpit/dimensions/none

b).- A standard tennis ball measures between 2.5 and 2.6 in (6.35 and
6.6 cm) in diameter and weighs between 1.98 and 2.1 oz (56 and 59.4
g).

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Clarification of Question by rocactus-ga on 26 Dec 2005 14:08 PST

ANSWERS MUST BE RECIEVED BY JANUARY 5, 2006

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Clarification of Question by rocactus-ga on 27 Dec 2005 08:32 PST

CLARIFICATION:

1)-. THE BALLS ARE 15% LARGER IN DIAMETER THAN A REGULAR TENNIS BALL.

2).- HOWEVER, THESE ARE NOT TENNIS BALLS. 

(THAT TERM WAS ONLY USED AS REFERENCE FOR SIZE ONLY. ?RATHER, THE
BALLS ARE MADE OF LIGHT-WEIGHT PLASTIC WHICH IS UNSQUISHABLE).
THEREFORE THESE WILL NOT FLEX INTO EACHOTHER UNLESS A VERY
SUBSTAINTIAL AMOUNT OF WEIGHT IS EXERTED DIRECTLY UPON THEM).

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Clarification of Question by rocactus-ga on 27 Dec 2005 08:47 PST

4).- The interior room lenght of the passenger area of the vehicle can
probably also be calculated by looking at the exterior dimension
features at:

http://www.miniusa.com/link/ourcars/features/cooper_s/exterior/dimensions/none

(It seems to me that this would fall within the vicinity of about 90 "
inches in length at it's longest point)

5).- The calculations should obviously also take into account (or
substract) the overall exact surface areas that are taken up by the
seats, dashboard, gear shift / box, glove compartment, and ofcourse,
steering wheel.

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Clarification of Question by rocactus-ga on 27 Dec 2005 20:44 PST

Yes, I'm an advertising / arts major and am planning to fill up this
specific car with as many balls of this specific size as possible for
my degree project.

The general idea is that all balls will be painted in different vivid
colors and so as to resemble oversized candy. The car itself will also
be painted and outfitted in a way so as to resemble an oversized candy
slot-vending machine.
(It's supposed to be my great idea as to a would be campaign aiming to
pitch this vehicle in a fun and innovative way to would be buyers).

Anyway, as of now, I've found a manufacturer that currently makes
plastic balls around the specific size I mentioned. (I have a sample
btw.)

First though and as you can imagine:

 a).- I want to know precisely (or as close as humanly possible) as to
how many balls of this size I'm going to need in order to fill up the
Mini since I will have to purchase and paint them all in order to fill
up the car.

b).- Obviosuly, this is going to cost me good money so I don't want to
just "plunge into this" or go ahead with this idea unless it's doable.
Therefore, knowing specifics is a must because I certainly don't want
to end up purchasing what may end up being way too many or too few of
these balls and without first getting a very precise estimate as to
how many of these I'm going to need.

I mean, cost is definitely an issue here. ?Reason why I need someone's
expertise and help before proceeding.

Thanks again!

Hello,

   You need to clarify what you mean by the balls being 15% larger
than tennis balls. Is that 15% larger in diameter? In volume? Surface
area?

Tennis balls can be squished.  And when packed tightly, they will be
squished to a degree.

A bit of tennis ball trivia to help with the calculations -- or not --
http://wings.avkids.com/Tennis/Book/ball-01.html

I'm just curious as to why the balls have this specific diameter. Are
you planning to actually fill a car with balls of this size which are
at your disposal? Sounds like a terrific college stunt.

I wonder if this is related to a contest in which a prize is awarded
to the person who can guess the number of items that are in a
container. There was a similar contest in my town a few years ago in
which golf balls were packed into a Volkswagen. The person whose guess
was closest was a little old lady who said that her guess was based on
her son's birthdate. A university physics class had made the contest a
group project, and their guess wasn't very close. I suspect that this
kind of contest is an area in which academic estimates may not
necessarily jibe with real-world situations.

I will go along with Vitaman-ga's answer to the related question:  2047 balls
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=609890

(Why the dickens do the balls have to be 15% larger than standard
tennis balls?)  There are larger T-balls sold (or were sold),
significantly slower, of course.

Save some money on balls and use a filler for the interior of the car.
You could get pillow stuffing and fill the passanger footwells and
pretty much everything in the car below the windows.

I'm sure your instructor would be pleased with any price savings on
advritizing materials that you could achieve without any significant
degredation to the visual impact of the thing.

Just look for pictures online of colorful balls, pieces of candy, etc.
 Print them, and tape them to the inside of the windows.  From a
distance (if the pictures are vivid enough), nobody will be able to
tell the difference.