How Many Golf Balls Fit in a School Bus?

A popular interview question that tests spatial reasoning.

School Bus Dimensions

# Interior dimensions of a school bus
bus_length = 20 to 25 feet
bus_width = 6 to 7 feet
bus_height = 5 to 6 feet

# Bus interior volume
bus_volume = bus_length * bus_width * bus_height
bus_volume_m3 = bus_volume as m^3

23 [19, 26] m^3 {volume}

Golf Ball Size

# Golf ball diameter (regulation is 42.67mm minimum)
ball_diameter = 42 to 44 mm
ball_radius = ball_diameter / 2

# Volume of a sphere: (4/3)πr³
ball_volume = (4/3) * pi * ball_radius^3

41600 [38800, 44600] mm^3 {volume}

Packing Efficiency

Random packing of spheres achieves about 64% density. Optimal (hexagonal close packing) is about 74%.

# Packing efficiency for random packing
packing_efficiency = 0.60 to 0.68

0.639 [0.600, 0.680]

Calculation

Note: convert both volumes to the same unit before dividing — mixed length units (feet^3 / mm^3) don't auto-cancel in current NeoFermi.

# Number of golf balls — convert to a common unit (m^3) before dividing
num_balls = (bus_volume_m3 * packing_efficiency) / (ball_volume as m^3)

350000 [290000, 420000]

Result

A school bus can hold approximately 350000 [290000, 420000] golf balls.

That's roughly 300,000-500,000 balls!