Pi Day
is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant —
the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is
approximately 3.14159.
Pi has
been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. As an
irrational and transcendental number, it will continue infinitely without
repetition or pattern. While only a handful of digits are needed for typical
calculations, Pi’s infinite nature makes it a fun challenge to memorize, and to
computationally calculate more and more digits.
Tomorrow
the students will celebrate 3-14, or PI day by listening to PI day songs,
competing in a hula hoop contest, eating round food, and analyzing the
gloriously irrational number pi through an activity called “The Pi is
Right”. See http://www.piday.org/
for further information about Pi and the global celebration! Extra credit
is available for students who memorize the first 31 digits of pi (pi day
pencils with the number were passed out last Friday when we graphed the
relationship between circumference and diameter) and/or bring in round food to
feed 15 students in their class. At the end of the day, extra donations
will be given to an area organizations (if there is any food remaining).
For
homework, students will have to develop a pi day poem, song, rap, comic strip,
or picture that includes 3 facts they learned about Pi this week. (Due
March 18)
No comments:
Post a Comment