Saturday, August 1, 2009
Lets talk PIE!!!! Tianchong here and lets talk about 10 facts on PIE today:1) Pi or π is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter
2)In Euclidean space; this is the same value as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius.
3)Approximately equal to 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510
(wow that is alot of digits. but guess what.. the value of π has been computed to more than a trillion (10^12) digits.)
4)an irrational number
5)Its decimal representation never ends or repeats
6)It is also a transcendental number
7)Can be empirically estimated by drawing a large circle, then measuring its diameter and circumference and dividing the circumference by the diameter
8)π is often defined using trigonometric functions, for example as the smallest positive x for which sin x = 0
9)π can be defined using the inverse trigonometric functions, for example as π = 2 arccos(0) or π = 4 arctan(1). Expanding inverse trigonometric functions as power series is the easiest way to derive infinite series for π.
10)Lastly, π's greatest contribution is being one of the most important mathematical and physical constants: many formulae from mathematics, science, and engineering involve π!!
So.. are fascinated with PIE now?
Xiao Yuting
Wan Tian Chong
