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A Do-It-Yourself Estimation Exercise

The stolen gold

In a daring daylight robbery during 1995, two masked bandeits stole a large quantity of gold bars form the luxurious office suite of a prominent Sydney media magnate!

Two women were arrested and at the trial, the prosecution alledged that the value of the missing gold was $10 000 000 (ten million dollars) and that the accused escaped from the building carrying the gold in their briefcases.

The jury -- and you -- must decide whether the prosecution's case is credible.

Could the accused really have escaped with that much stolen gold in their briefcases?

NOTE: This story is based on a real life case involving similar facts. However, the differences between our example and the real-life case are significant.

Over the next couple of pages, you will be asked to estimate various quantities that may be of use in solving this problem.

Before progressing onto the next page, try to guess (or calculate, if you like) how much $10 000 000 of gold would weigh and whether this much gold could fit into two briefcases.

On to the interactive solution.

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