The science behind It Took

Every It Took answer comes from a short calculation with one or two standard numbers. Here is each kind of experiment, the numbers it uses and a worked example you can check by hand.

There are 86 experiments in the game across 6 kinds. The examples on this page are not among them, so nothing here spoils a daily puzzle.

🎈 Balloons that lift

Assumption shown in the game: Standard 11-inch party balloons at sea level, about 10 g of lift each.

Helium is lighter than air, so a helium balloon is pushed upward by the air around it. A standard 11-inch latex party balloon holds about 14 g of lift at sea level. The balloon itself and its ribbon weigh about 4 g, which leaves roughly 10 g of useful lift per balloon.

Worked example: a 500 g bag of pasta needs about 500 ÷ 10 = 50 balloons.

Real balloons slowly lose helium and lift less in warm air or at altitude, so the game keeps to fresh balloons at sea level.

🔋 Batteries

Assumption shown in the game: Alkaline AA batteries, about 3 Wh each, and no energy lost on the way.

An alkaline AA battery stores about 3 watt-hours of energy when it is drained gently. To find how many it takes, the game works out the energy a task needs in watt-hours and divides by 3. It assumes no energy is lost along the way, which real chargers and heaters cannot quite manage.

Worked example: running a 60 W desk fan for one hour uses 60 Wh, so it takes about 60 ÷ 3 = 20 AA batteries.

🚴 People on bikes

Assumption shown in the game: Each rider keeps up a steady 100 watts, like a brisk ride.

A fit person can keep up about 100 watts on a bike for a long time, the effort of a brisk ride. To power an appliance you need as many riders as its power draw divided by 100.

Worked example: a 1,000 W microwave would need about 1,000 ÷ 100 = 10 riders pedaling at once.

🍬 Sugar cubes

Assumption shown in the game: Standard 4 g sugar cubes. Sugar amounts from nutrition labels.

A standard sugar cube weighs about 4 grams. The amount of sugar in a food or drink comes from its nutrition label, and the answer is that amount divided by 4.

Worked example: a drink with 20 g of sugar holds about 20 ÷ 4 = 5 sugar cubes.

🏃 Fuel for running

Assumption shown in the game: A 70 kg runner burns about 70 kcal per km. Calories from nutrition labels.

Running costs roughly 1 kilocalorie per kilogram of body weight per kilometer, almost regardless of speed. For a 70 kg runner that is about 70 kcal per km. Divide the energy for the distance by the calories in one snack, taken from its nutrition label.

Worked example: a 3 km run burns about 3 × 70 = 210 kcal, so it takes 3 snacks of 70 kcal each.

🧊 Ice cubes

Assumption shown in the game: Regular 25 g ice cubes straight from the freezer, all of them melting.

Ice cools a drink in two ways. First it melts, which takes 334 joules per gram. Then the meltwater warms up, which takes 4.186 joules per gram for every degree. The drink gives up 4.186 joules per gram for every degree it cools. The game balances the two, with regular 25 g ice cubes straight from the freezer and all of them melting.

Worked example: cooling a 500 ml bottle of water from 30°C to 10°C releases about 500 × 4.186 × 20 ≈ 41,900 J. Each cube absorbs about 25 × (334 + 4.186 × 10) ≈ 9,400 J, so it takes about 4.5 ice cubes.

Why simple numbers

Real life is messier: balloons leak, batteries sag under heavy loads, and no two runners burn exactly the same. It Took fixes one clear assumption per experiment and shows it before you guess, so every answer is fair and you can always work it out yourself.

Play today’s experiments