where was 'pi' derived from?

Question

is pi something to do with statistics?

Answer 1

In Euclidean plane geometry, π(Pi) is defined either as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, or as the ratio of a circle's area to the area of a square whose side is the radius. π may be defined in many other ways, for example as the smallest positive x for which sin(x) = 0. See other formulas below. All these definitions are equivalent.

Area of Circle = Pi.(Radius)^2
Perimeter of Circle (Circumference)=2.Pi.Radius.
Yes .. it has someting to do with Statistics :

In probability and statistics, there are many distributions whose formulæ contain π, including:

probability density function (pdf) for the normal distribution with mean μ and standard deviation σ :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi

Answer 2

Some greek dude ages ago realised that with any circle, the ratio of its diameter to its circumference is 3.14159.

As this number is always the same for any circle its used frequently in mathmatics to find the area, circumference, or diameter of circles.

Im not sure where down the line this number got called Pi, but basically pi is a greek letter of the alphabet (like alpha, or beta), represented by the greek letter "π"

So, when people talk about Pi, they basically mean 3.14159. Simple.

Answer 3

in mathematics, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.The symbol π was popularized by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in the early 18th century to represent this ratio. Because pi is irrational (not equal to the ratio of any two whole numbers), an approximation, such as 22/7, is often used for everyday calculations; to 31 decimal places pi is 3.1415926535897932384626433832795.

The Babylonians (c. 2000 BC) used 3.125 to approximate pi, a value they obtained by calculating the perimeter of a hexagon inscribed within a circle. The Rhind papyrus (c. 1650 BC) indicates that ancient Egyptians used a value of 256/81 or about 3.16045. Archimedes (c. 250 BC) took a major step forward by devising a method to obtain pi to any desired accuracy, given enough patience. By inscribing and circumscribing regularpolygons about a circle to obtain upper and lower bounds, he obtained 223/71 < π < 22/7, or an average value of about 3.1418. Archimedes also proved that the ratio of the area of a circle to the square of its radius is the same constant.

Over the ensuing centuries, Chinese, Indian, and Arab mathematicians extended the number of decimal places known through tedious calculations, rather than improvements on Archimedes' method. By the end of the 17th century, however, new methods of mathematical analysis in Europe provided improved ways of calculating pi involving infinite series. For example, Sir Isaac Newton used his binomial theorem to calculate 16 decimal places quickly. Early in the 20th century, the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan developed exceptionally efficient ways of calculating pi that were later incorporated into computer algorithms. By the end of the 20th century, computers had calculated pi to more than 200,000,000,000 decimal places.

Pi occurs in various mathematical problems involving the lengths of arcs or other curves, the areas of ellipses, sectors, and other curved surfaces, and the volumes of many solids. It is also used in various formulas of physics and engineering to describe such periodic phenomena as the motion of pendulums, the vibration of strings, and alternating electric currents.

Answer 4

If we want to know the derivation of Pi we have to go back to the time when Archimedes lived.

Answer 5

It's the decimal representation of 22/7, extended to whatever number of decimal places desired. Not sure what the fascination with memorizing the numbers is, however. There are contests and world records having to do with that...weird.

Answer 6

It was found by the greeks when trying to find areas of circles.