numbers again

[joym999 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 13021

I enjoyed Amys analysis of the # of teachers at Hogwarts so much that 
I just thought I would add another log onto the fire of that great 
nitpick of numbers in which we try to figure out just exactly how 
many students there are at Hogwarts.  I agree that there are far few 
teachers at Hogwarts for 1000 students, or probably even for 300 
students if the students are taught in groups of 10 or 20.  And think 
of all those papers they would have to grade!  My high school had 
about 1000 students and there were about 100 employees including the 
teachers and all the other staff people.  (Of course they could have 
fired half of them and it wouldnt have been a problem but thats 
another story.)

Here is my contribution to this great debate:

The books clearly state that there is one table per house in the 
Great Hall.  If there are 1000 students at Hogwarts, then there are 
250 students in each House.  That means that each table has to be big 
enough to seat 250 people at a time.  (We know they dont eat in 
shifts because there are many occasions where the whole school is 
celebrating in the Great Hall.)  Dining tables are generally about 1 
1 1/2 to 2 feet long for every 2 people that can sit at the table 
opposite to one another. Even if there were benches instead of chairs 
and you really squeezed people in there would have to be at least 1 
foot per person on either side of the table.  That means that a table 
that could fit 250 people would have to be at least 124 feet long -- 
124 people on either side and 2 at the ends, and they would be very 
crowded, so a big enough table is probably more like 200 feet long.  
124 feet long (or about 41 meters) is very long, and of course 200 
feet, or about 65 meters, is REALLY long.  I know the Great Hall is 
big enough to fit the Dursleys whole house in it, but 4 bedroom 
suburban houses are about 60 feet long.  

Think about the length of those tables, for example, an (American) 
football field is 100 yards, or 300 feet long.  In baseball, the 
distance from home plate to first base is 90 feet.  I think the 
tables would have to be ridiculously long, and therefore I agree with 
the original estimate of about 10 students per class per year for a 
total of about 300 students.  That way the tables only have to be big 
enough for 70 students, hence about 40 feet long -- a much more 
manageable size.

--Joywitch