pi day

3.14 Ways to Make Pi Day a Piece of Cake!

Posted on by Riley Bell

Celebrated each year on March 14th (3.14), Pi Day commemorates the irrational, transcendent, and never-ending ratio that’s used to represent a mathematical constant. This infinite number is crucial when describing circles because no matter how big or small, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter will always equal to pi.

In 2009, pi day, also written π or 3.14, was declared an official national holiday–one that’s worth celebrating! We’ll help you kick things off with 3 fun facts, 1 joke, and 4 activities that are certain to get you in the Pi Day spirit.

Continue reading “3.14 Ways to Make Pi Day a Piece of Cake!”

Get Ready to Celebrate Pi!

Posted on by Michele Arduengo

26562342_lWhat will you be doing on 3/14/15 at precisely 9:26:53? Twice the clocks will align with the first few digits of my favorite irrational and transcendental number (3.141592653…) or π. Over 1 trillion digits to the right of the decimal point have been calculated, and they still go on, never making a pattern, never repeating.

Take any circle, that blueberry pie that your grandmother baked would be a good choice. Measure the circumference and divide by the diameter and you will have Pi, the mathematical constant that represents the ratio of circumference to diameter in a circle. You probably encountered Pi in your early mathematics education when learning the formula for the area of a circle (2πr2).

In celebration of Pi, here are a few Pi diversions to brighten your day. Continue reading “Get Ready to Celebrate Pi!”

Pop Pi Quiz

Posted on by Maria Perr

Teachers, architects and engineers have found the mathematical constant, π, to be an invaluable tool for understanding and changing the world around us. Without Π, we would not be able to quickly calculate the area of a circle. To celebrate Pi Day (March 14th), today’s mental exercise will be to test your knowledge of Π. Are you ready for more Π?

1) What does Π represent?
a) The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter
b) A rounded value of 3.14
c) The 16th letter in the Greek alphabet
d) All of the above Continue reading “Pop Pi Quiz”