Pi

d
ter
A diagram showing how π can be found by using a circle with a

m e diameter of one. The circumference of this circle is π .

dia
digits of pi that are to the right of the decimal go forever
without repeating in a pattern, and that it is impossible to
write the exact value of pi as a number. Pi can only be
approximated, or measured to a value that is close enough
for practical purposes.[2]
A value close to pi is 3.1415926535897932384626433...
A common fraction approximation of pi is 22 7 , which
yields approximately 3.14285714. This approximation is
C
π= d
(pi is equal to the circumference divided by the diameter). 0.04% away from the true value of pi. While this approx-
imation is accepted for most of its use in real life, the
fraction 355
113 is more accurate (giving about 3.14159292),

3.14159265
and can be used when a value closer to pi is needed.[3]
Computers can be used to get better approximations of
35897932384626
4338327950 28

pi.

Pi is an endless string of numbers

2 History
Pi (or π) is a mathematical constant. It is the ratio of the
distance around a circle to the circle’s diameter. This
produces a number, and that number is always the same. The value of pi was known to Ancient Indian mathemati-
However, the number is rather strange. The number starts cians like Bhaskaracharya and Aryabhatt.
3.141592....... and continues without end. Numbers like Mathematicians have known about pi for thousands of
this are called irrational numbers. years because they have been working with circles for
The diameter is the longest straight line which can be fit- the same amount of time. Civilizations as old as the
ted inside a circle. It passes through the center of the Babylonians have been able to approximate pi to many
circle. The distance around a circle is known as the digits, such as the fraction 25/8 and 256/81. Most histo-
circumference. Even though the diameter and circum- rians believe that ancient Egyptians had no concept of π
ference are different for different circles, the number pi and that the correspondence is a coincidence.[4]
remains constant: its value never changes. This is because The first written reference to pi dates to 1900 BC.[5]
the relationship between the circumference and diameter Around 1650 BC the Egyptian Ahmes gave a value in
is always the same.[1] the Rhind Papyrus. The Babylonians were able to find
that the value of pi was slightly greater than 3 by simply
making a big circle and then sticking a piece of rope onto
.in

1 Approximation the circumference and the diameter, taking note of their

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distances, and then dividing the circumference by the di-

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Pi is often written formally as π or the Greek letter π ameter.

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as a shortcut. Pi is also an irrational number, meaning it Knowledge of the number pi passed back into Europe and
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cannot be written as a fraction ( ab ), where 'a' and 'b' are into the hands of the Hebrews, who made the number im-
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integers (whole numbers). This basically means that the portant in a section of the Bible called the Old Testament.
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1
2 4 REFERENCES

After this, the most common way of trying to find pi was 4 References
to draw a shape of many sides inside any circle and use
the area of the shape to find pi. The Greek philosopher [1] Lennart Berggren, Jonathan M. Borwein & Peter B. Bor-
Archimedes, for example, used a polygon shape that had wein (eds) 1999. Pi: a source book. 2nd ed, Springer.
96 sides in order to find the value of pi, but the Chinese in ISBN 978-0-387-98946-4
500 A.D. were able to use a polygon with 16,384 sides to
[2] Goodwin College of Professional Studies. (1994-2010).
find the value of pi. The Greeks, like Anaxagoras of Cla-
“About Pi” (html). http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/
zomenae, were also busy with finding out other properties faq.pi.html. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
of the circle, such as how to make squares of circles and
squaring the number pi. Since then, many people have [3] “Pi to 4 Million Decimals” (php). http://zenwerx.com/pi.
been trying to find out more and more exact values of php. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
pi.[6]
[4] Arndt, Jörg & Haenel, Christoph 2006. Pi unleashed.
In the 16th century, better and better ways of finding pi Springer-Verlag, 168. ISBN 978-3-540-66572-4
became available such as the complicated formula that the
[5] Beckmann, Petr 1971. A History of Pi. St. Martins Press,
French lawyer François Viète developed. The first use of
London.
the Greek symbol "π" was in an essay written in 1706 by
William Jones. [6] “Pi History” (html). August 2001. http:
//www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/HistTopics/
A mathematician named Lambert also showed in 1761
Pi_through_the_ages.html. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
that the number pi was irrational; that is, it cannot be
written as a fraction by normal standards. Another math- [7] “PI” (htm). 2000-2005. http://www.math.com/tables/
ematician named Lindeman was also able to show in constants/pi.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
1882 that pi was part of the group of numbers known
as transcendentals, which are numbers that cannot be the
solution to a polynomial equation.[7]
Pi can also be used for figuring out many other things
beside circles.[4] The properties of pi have allowed it to
be used in many other areas of math besides geometry,
which studies shapes. Some of these areas are complex
analysis, trigonometry, and series.

3 Pi in real life
Today, there are different ways to calculate many digits
of π . This is of limited use though.
Pi can sometimes be used to work out the area or the
circumference of any circle. To find the circumference
of a circle, use the formula C (circumference) = π times
diameter. To find the area of a circle, use the formula π
(radius²). This formula is sometimes written as A = πr2
, where r is the variable for the radius of any circle and A
is the variable for the area of that circle.
To calculate the circumference of a circle with an error
of 1 mm:

• 4 digits are needed for a radius of 30 meters

• 10 digits for a radius equal to that of the earth

.in

• 15 digits for a radius equal to the distance from the

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earth to the sun.

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People generally celebrate March 14 as Pi Day because

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March 14 is also written as 3/14, which represents the

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first three numbers 3.14 in the approximation of pi.[2]

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