Break the problem into manageable parts: estimate the volume of a Boeing 747's interior and the volume of a ping pong ball, then divide to get a rough count. State your assumptions clearly and focus on the reasoning process rather than the exact number.
Pro tip: Acknowledge that this is a Fermi problem and that the exact answer is less important than your structured approach; mention that you'd validate assumptions with real data if available.
Ask clarifying questions to define the scope, such as whether the plane is empty or has seats, and whether 'fit' means packed tightly or loosely.
Approximate the interior volume by modeling the fuselage as a cylinder and adding the volume of the wings and cargo areas if relevant.
Calculate the volume of a ping pong ball using the formula for a sphere (4/3 π r³) with a typical radius of 2 cm.
Apply a packing factor (e.g., 0.64 for random close packing of spheres) to account for the empty space between balls.
Divide the adjusted plane volume by the ball volume to get the number, then sanity-check by comparing to known benchmarks or simplifying the model.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.