Ok, pi is probably a bit over the head of your average 5 year old. I know the definition of pi is circumference / diameter, but is that really how we get all the digits of pi? We just get a circle, measure it and calculate? Or is there some other formula or something that we use to calculate the however many known digits of pi there are?
In: 716
Draw a circle. Now draw a box around that circle with a width the same diameter as the circle. Then draw a box inside that circle, with the corners on the circle. Since we know that pi = circumference divided by diameter, you now know that pi must lie between the lengths of the inner and outer circle, each divided by the circle diameter. You can do that with a 5-sided figure for a more accurate range of values, then a 6-sided figure, and so on. The more sides the polygons have, the closer you are to approximating the circumference of that circle, and hence finding the value of pi. When you get to a polygon with 696 sides, you have a value of 3.1416, which isn’t bad.
There are more complicated algorithms to calculate pi, but that’s the simplest way I know to explain it.
Latest Answers