Even notice how wet, sticky snow is the best for packing snowballs? How can those teeny specks weigh so much? Sue Heavenrich at Archimedes Notebook figured out that a snowflake can weigh up to 1/50th of a gram, so 235 flakes weigh the same as a Hershey’s chocolate kiss. Other people found that if you shovel 10-inch-deep snow off a 50-foot stretch of sidewalk, you’re moving about 1,300 pounds of snow!
Wee ones: Which weighs more, a snowflake or 1 Hershey’s kiss?
Little kids: If you love to eat snow, and you take a bite of snowball, then eat a Hershey’s kiss, then a bite of snow, then a kiss…what do you eat on your 8th bite? Bonus: If you count out 95 Hershey’s kisses, what number do you say before 95?
Big kids: A 5×5-foot square of sidewalk with 1 inch of snow weighs about 25 pounds. How many sidewalk squares would you have to shovel to match your weight in snow? Bonus: If you eat 2 Hershey’s kisses, how many snowflakes would you have to eat to match that weight?
Answers:
Wee ones: A Hershey’s kiss.
Little kids: A Hershey’s kiss, as on all even-numbered bites. Bonus: 94.
Big kids: Different for everyone…see how many 25s add up to your weight in pounds (or more). Bonus: 470 snowflakes.
