How many pennies in a square foot?

Answer 1

There are 304 pennies in a square foot

16 pennies = 12 inch line.

16 X 16 = 256

***************************************************************

Despite the difference of 48 pennies between the two answers above, both answers could be correct.

If pennies were square, then answer #1 would be incorrect.

Answer #2 relies on the pennies being arranged in a grid pattern. 16 x 16 = 256.

However pennies are circular and can be "nested" when arranged. That means that the first row would be 16 pennies. The second row would be 15 pennies, the third row would be 16 again, then 15 again, etc. Because of the nesting, additional rows can be added in the same square foot of space. I haven't tried to see how many more pennies could be accommodated by this nesting (or "staggering") so I don't know if the 304 is an accurate count in such a case. However there would certainly be more pennies per square foot in a nested arrangement than in a grid arrangement.