Geometry/Estimation Problem

[sarlaur]

Your best friend is about to turn 21 and you want to send him a box full of Ping-Pong balls. You have a square box measuring 12 inches on each side and you wonder how many Ping-Pong balls would fit inside. Suppose you have just enough balls to cover the bottom of the box in a single layer. How could you estimate the number that would fill the box?

I have gotten this far:
1) Count the number of balls that cover the bottom
2) Calculate the area of the box (how?)
3) Multiply number of balls by area of box?

How do I solve this? Am I correct so far?

 

[stapel]

Your best friend is about to turn 21 and you want to send him a box full of Ping-Pong balls. You have a square box measuring 12 inches on each side and you wonder how many Ping-Pong balls would fit inside. Suppose you have just enough balls to cover the bottom of the box in a single layer. How could you estimate the number that would fill the box?

I have gotten this far:
1) Count the number of balls that cover the bottom

What value did you get?

2) Calculate the area of the box (how?)

What do you mean by finding the "area" of the box? If you have done this already (being part of how "far" you have "gotten"), what do you mean by "how?"