Pi Day - 14th March 2022
March 14th - or 3/14 in some calendars- is Pi Day!
Don't go round in circles looking for resources to celebrate this amazing mathematical constant. Below is a collection of resources to help you.
What is your favourite Pi related activity?
KS3 Maths - Introducing Pi
This Teachers TV video features a visual way of introducing Pi- by carefully folding the label from any can across its diameter it students find that it fits three and a bit times, as they explore the relationship between the circumference and diameter of different sized cans.
Investigating Pi
In this Teachers TV 'Buffon's Needle'- first used in 1777- is used to estimate the value of Pi.
The video shows a class of top set Year Nine students to investigate the polygon method for estimating Pi, before introducing them to a scaled down version of Buffon's experiment. A mathematical model is then used to highlight the surprising result of this experiment.
Circles
These 15 ideas are ideal for use as starter questions, extension question or probing questions to assess understanding.
They require students to perform a practical experiment in order to estimate a value for pi, describe a circle over the phone, find a connection between the length of the radius of a circle and the area of the circle, explore different series giving approximations for pi, investigate problems requiring the calculation of circumference and calculate the number of revolutions per minute of a spinning object.
Running Tracks
This Cre8ate maths activity gives the opportunity for accurate measurement, scale drawing and calculations involving pi, by inviting students look at how the school running track is marked out and distances are measured accurately for runners in each of the lanes.
If a track is not available, students can investigate where a track could be placed in the school grounds, what is the smallest area required would be or how track lanes are marked accurately.
Circle Measurement
This SMILE resource contains two packs of games, investigations, worksheets and practical activities supporting the teaching and learning of circle measurement, plus two other related resources.
Circle measurement pack two includes activities that find approximations to pi.
Maths Careers: Calculating Pi
Pi (π) is the first number we learn about at school where we can’t write it as an exact decimal - it is a mysterious number which has digits which go on forever and has fascinated people for thousands of years.
Numberphile- pi
Alex Bellos talks about the 'celebrity number' pi.
Alternatively, you can also watch Numberphile calculate pi with real pies!
The whole collection of pi related Numberphile videos can be found here