Pi Day

Pi Day is a day,

To celebrate this joyous number.

You use it to find circumference.

It’s an irrational number.

O let us celebrate Pi Day

In a way like no other.

Let us celebrate this day

And enjoy this wonderful number!

Paul Johns 2000

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for

March 14th

or:

3.14

And once you do, you’ll notice that March 14th is a Sunday.

Two options:

Have a totally dessert weekend: Pi and Sundae (have your students do a weekend project)

Leftover Pi: Tastes even better the day after (celebrate the event on Monday)

There are some fun comics about Pi…

… and even some jokes…

Q: What do you get if you divide the circumference of a bowl of ice cream by its diameter?

A: Pi a'la mode.

Q:What do you get when you take the sun and divide its circumference by its diameter?

A: Pi in the sky.

In the Greek alphabet, pi is the sixteenth letter (and 16 is the square of 4). In the English alphabet, p is also the sixteenth letter, and i is the ninth letter (the square of 3). Add them up (16+9), and you get 25 (the square of five). Multiply them (16x9), and you get 144 (the square of 12). Divide 9 by 16, and you get .5625 (the square of .75). It's no wonder that they say, "Pi are squared!"

… and some interesting facts…

Remember…

A =

2r

Memorizing pi On February

18, 1995, Hiroyuki Goto of

Tokyo, Japan recited pi to

42,195 places at the NHK

Broadcasting Center, Tokyo.

… and some very hap-pi people…

The most accurate version of pi A team of nine

researchers led by Professor Yasumasa Kanada at the

Information Technology Center at Tokyo University

have calculated pi to 1,240,000,000,000 (1.24 trillion)

places. This surpasses the old record by

206,158,000,000 digits!

… Okay, it’s not written in stone that you have to celebrate Pi Day…

or, maybe it is???

So, consider doing some Pi-Day activities or projects centered a-round Wednesday, March 14th.

 Articles:

Let's Take Another Look at Pi Day – Explores the many uses of Pi Day.(Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, March 2002)

Playing around with "Mono-pi-ly" (Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, February 2006)The game of "mono-pi-ly" for two to five players was created as a part of a Pi Day activity for use with a mixed-level geometry class. Students review and practice circle vocabulary, and area and circumference calculations by playing the game. Playing time is approximately forty to fifty minutes.

So, consider doing some Pi-Day activities or projects centered a-round Wednesday, March 14th.

 Pi Day. Accept the challenge. The Pi Day Challenge is a series of puzzles that are logic based. A team of logicians adapted or created these puzzles – some require research, some require mathematics, some require pure savvy. 

Joy of Pi contains a wide range of links to pi pages on the Web including those on memorizing pi, posters to print, pi mysteries, fun with pi, wacky pi stuff, and a pi fan club.

Teach Pi bills itself as "a one-stop Pi Day shop for teachers and number lovers." Includes stories, more than 50 pi-related activities, and music.

So, consider doing some Pi-Day activities or projects centered a-round Wednesday, March 14th..

Pi Day includes a section of teachers reporting on their most successful Pi Day activities, as well as a source to send Pi Day cards.

Explore the history and meaning of pi http://www.mathgoodies.com/WebQuests/pi_day/

A History of Pi

Links to activities to use for a Pi Day celebration The Math Forum

Where is your birthday in Pi?

So, consider doing some Pi-Day activities or projects centered a-round Wednesday, March 14th.

 Just for FunThe New York Times science writer John Tierney wrote a March 2008 Pi Day article which includes a link to an applet that calculates pi by using Buffon's Needle, and introduces "pi-ku" using a 3-1-4 syllable pattern rather than the traditional 5-7-5 syllable pattern of haiku.

It's Pi Day!Learn math's mysteries.Three point one for the beginning.Celebrate!It's irrational!