How many.......?

[TightEnd]

“How many calories are in a supermarket?”

this was asked by Google to a Product Manager candidate to provide an answer face to face on the spot

not easy

[celtic]

5 billion.

[Doobs]

How many people in Great Britain own a motor car?

UK Population is 65m

Population over 17 is about 55m (a bit less?)

how many people per household, on average? 4 sound about right?

55/4= lets say 14

average uk household 2 cars?

14*2=28m cars?


then google

"this is the list of summary results from the DVLA publication: “ At the end of 2012 there were 34.5 million vehicles licensed for use on the roads in Great Britain, of which 28.7 million (83 per cent) were cars.12 Apr 2013"





next question

Why are you working out over 17s and then ignoring them in your people per household?

70m now?
3.5 per household (lots of growth in single households)
Much less than 2 cars per house.  

[AndrewT]

For the female poker player in London question I came up with 160, and I have a better knowledge of the starting set of data than most people.

“How many calories are in a supermarket?”

this was asked by Google to a Product Manager candidate to provide an answer face to face on the spot

not easy

The way I'd go is estimate the average number of customers per week, assume each is buying for two people (lots of singles, lots of mums shopping for families). Say it's 5,000.

So 10,000 people are getting a good proportion of their weekly calorie requirement from this supermarket. Say it's 75% (25% from eating out, elsewhere).

Daily calorie intake of say average of 2,500 - 17,500 per week. 75% of that is about 13,000

13,000 x 10,000 = 130m

This assumes the supermarket carries an average of a week's stock on the shelves (stuff like milk, bread, fruit is less, cereals, tinned food etc has longer shelf life)

[Doobs]

“How many calories are in a supermarket?”

this was asked by Google to a Product Manager candidate to provide an answer face to face on the spot

not easy

20 rows.  200 products per row, 3 deep on average.  8 high on average.  1000 calories per product.

100 million?

Could easily be out 10 fold though.  Would be easier if I googled first.

[ruud]

Got a five period day tomorrow so will do the piano tuners in Chicago with every single one and report back.....

Which of the following groups is your money on for the best guess?

Year 12 A Level Maths
Year 10 set 3
Year 11 set 4
Year 9 set 1
Year 8 set 4

Obv I can't give any further info than that

[ruud]

All sets are out of 5

[mulhuzz]

Got a five period day tomorrow so will do the piano tuners in Chicago with every single one and report back.....

Which of the following groups is your money on for the best guess?

Year 12 A Level Maths
Year 10 set 3
Year 11 set 4
Year 9 set 1
Year 8 set 4

Obv I can't give any further info than that

Could well be the year for me.

I think divergent thinking is a bit required here.

If the A-Level students have already had some exposure to dimensional analysis though then it will be them (been more than 10 years since my maths A-Levels so I have no idea what's on them anymore!)

[Graham C]

Think I read somewhere that there are more mobile phones in the country than people.  We own over 1 each on average.

May have made that up but I thought that's what it said.

[Doobs]

“How many calories are in a supermarket?”

this was asked by Google to a Product Manager candidate to provide an answer face to face on the spot

not easy

20 rows.  200 products per row, 3 deep on average.  8 high on average.  1000 calories per product.

100 million?

Could easily be out 10 fold though.  Would be easier if I googled first.

I have just googled and I am none the wiser.  Answer please

[mulhuzz]

“How many calories are in a supermarket?”

this was asked by Google to a Product Manager candidate to provide an answer face to face on the spot

not easy

20 rows.  200 products per row, 3 deep on average.  8 high on average.  1000 calories per product.

100 million?

Could easily be out 10 fold though.  Would be easier if I googled first.

I have just googled and I am none the wiser.  Answer please

Google most certainly weren't interested in the actual answer. More the thought process, reasoning, defence of position, hierarchy of factors/information, etc.

[edgascoigne]

Oxbridge interviews are notorious for this type of question; but in reality are a massive letdown/non-event.

I think rational thought is a hugely underrated tool for many, many historically successful companies so to see it so highly valued so quickly by some of the 'recent' success stories is refreshing.

[GreekStein]

Why do less women play online on champions league nights?

I would have thought if anything it could be more on these nights. Husband/partner has the TV so lady gets on computer and plays online.

[tikay]

Why do less women play online on champions league nights?

I would have thought if anything it could be more on these nights. Husband/partner has the TV so lady gets on computer and plays online.

That may be correct Greeky, & I suppose it depends on the order we do the equations, but the fact is, on all Northern Hemisphere online poker sites, traffic drops significantly on CL nights, just as it does during Monday Night Football. So the total number declines.

It may mean a small adjustment upwards to the number of female players, but we are still only ball-park, somewhere between 200 & 500. 100 more or less is not significant, imo.

Online poker sites also love transport strikes  - people stay at home & play Online - or really bad weather, ditto. In the UK, the record online poker traffic numbers occur during periods of heavy snowfall when we are all stuck at home, &, remarkably, on Bank Holidays. Boxing Day ids a HUGE day for Online poker. In the summer, when the weather is good, online numbers are awful. It's fascinating how many different things affect it.   

[TightEnd]

“How many calories are in a supermarket?”

this was asked by Google to a Product Manager candidate to provide an answer face to face on the spot

not easy

20 rows.  200 products per row, 3 deep on average.  8 high on average.  1000 calories per product.

100 million?

Could easily be out 10 fold though.  Would be easier if I googled first.

I have just googled and I am none the wiser.  Answer please

A suggested answer i saw was as follows

"There are approximately 12,000 supermarkets in the UK to feed 60 million people. The average calorie consumption per person is 2000, but figures suggest we waste 1/3 of what we buy . So we need to buy 182billion calories a day to feed Britain. That's 15million a supermarket. Supermarkets have stock in the back and on the shelves, replacing items as they're sold. Assuming each store has enough for 2 days (so they can replace as they go and resupply each night), that's 30million calories a supermarket. Then factor in restaurants, cafes, take-aways, work and school canteens and fast food. If we assume 7 meals a week are eaten there, rather than cooked at home, then that's 20million calories a supermarket."