Today is March 14. In the US when we write the date, we write the month first and then the day of the month. The months of the year are numbered - January is 1, February is 2 --- all the way to December that is 12. March is the third month so March 14 can be written 3.14.
3.14 is a very special number.
In math 3.14 is called Pi
No - not like that:
Pi is is written as the Greek letter for p like this:
So what is this Pi?
In order to understand what is Pi we need to know a few math vocabulary words:
This is a circle :
Diameter - a line that goes from one side of a circle to the opposite side through the center like so:
Now let's imagine that we are walking around the circle - the distance around the circle is its Circumference
And here is the magic:
When we divide the circumference of a circle by its diameter we will ALWAYS ALWAYS
get 3.14 or Pi.
Lets try:
Get your ruler, a string and a calculator.
Find a round object at home - a dinner plate maybe?
Measure the diameter of the plate (remember - it is the line that goes from one side of the plate to the opposite side through the center).
Write down your number.
Use your string to measure the distance around the plate - this is the circumference.
Write down this number.
Now use your calculator and divide the circumference by the diameter.
What did you get?
3.14!!
You can repeat with as many circles as you like - regardless of how big or small the circle is - you will always get ---you guessed it!
Pi
But wait - there is more.
Pi is kinda strange. It starts with 3.1415926535..... and continues forever - it never ends. There are many numbers similar to Pi - in math we call them Irrational numbers.
The first 100 digits of pi:
3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679 8214808651 3282306647 0938446095 5058223172 5359408128 4811174502 8410270193 8521105559 6446229489 5493038196 4428810975 6659334461 2847564823 3786783165 2712019091 4564856692 3460348610 4543266482 1339360726 0249141273 7245870066 0631558817 4881520920 9628292540 9171536436 7892590360 0113305305 4882046652 1384146951 9415116094 3305727036 5759591953 0921861173 8193261179 3105118548 0744623799 6274956735 1885752724 8912279381 8301194912 9833673362 4406566430 8602139494 6395224737 1907021798 6094370277 0539217176 2931767523 8467481846 7669405132 0005681271 4526356082 7785771342 7577896091 7363717872 1468440901 2249534301 4654958537 1050792279 6892589235 4201995611 2129021960 8640344181 5981362977 4771309960 5187072113 4999999837 2978049951 0597317328 1609631859 5024459455 3469083026 4252230825 3344685035 2619311881 7101000313 7838752886 5875332083 8142061717 7669147303 5982534904 2875546873 1159562863 8823537875 9375195778 1857780532 1712268066 1300192787 6611195909 2164201989
Do you want to challenge yourself? Memorize as many digits as you can - this song will help you:
The Pi song
Did you know?
Albert Einstein - one of the most famous and smartest scientists of the 20th century was born on pi day - he was born on March 14, 1879. Happy Birthday Dr. Einstein!
Pi is a fun day that celebrates math. We cannot have a celebration without a cake - actually - for today let's celebrate with a Pie.
Easy Chocolate Pie
Ingredients:
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 ½ cups HERSHEY’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
11 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
2 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
Preparation
Place chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at medium power for 30 sec. Stir, and continue to microwave for 30 seconds at a time until the chips are completely melted. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl using a mixer, beat together the softened cream cheese, sugar, and butter until it is light and creamy. Slowly add in the melted chocolate. Mix until completely blended together.
Fold in the softened whipped topping until well blended. Spoon the mixture into the pie crust.
Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Before serving, measure the circumference of your pie, and divide with the diameter to get Pi.
Cut into slices.
Happy Pi Day!
