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2006-12-11 10:22:34 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics Mathematics

6 answers

Pi (also sometimes called Archimedes' constant and Ludolph's number) is one of those numbers that crops up in all kinds of places in maths. It's what's called an irrational number, which means that, if written out as a decimal number, it keeps on going past the decimal point infinitely, without falling into a pattern. As such, it's impossible to write it as a fraction like you can a half (½ or 1/2) or 2004 2004/1) or 0.91 recurring (0.91919191919191... = 91/99). Because it's impossible to write as a fraction, mathematicians give it the symbol π (lowercase Greek letter pi). It's a constant, meaning that its value never changes, unlike a variable. Scientists would call it a universal constant, meaning that its value doesn't change anywhere in the universe (compare to characteristic constants, like the acceleration of freefall, g, which varies depending on the planet or where you are in space – 9.81 m/s², or metres per second squared, on Earth, but different elsewhere).

You can get it by dividing the circumference of a circle (the distance around the edge, symbol often c) by the diameter of that circle (the distance of a line drawn from a point on the edge, through the centre, and to the opposite edge – it's double the radius (2r) and often given the symbol ⌀ (circle with a slash through it, like ø) in technical drawings, and d in maths). If you do it by long division, you'll always get a remainder and will keep on going forever. If you use a calculator, it'll either give you the first eight decimal places or so, or (if it's an advanced modern scientific one) just give you the symbol π (pi). Though you find it from a circle, it often shows up in really odd places. Oh, and since you're dividing a value with units of length (metres, centimetres, feet, inches) by another with the same units, they cancel out and you're left with just a number, or a unitless value.

But in a nutshell, pi is the irrational number found by dividing the circumference of a circle by its diameter. You can use it in algebra just like any other letter. Oh, and if you want an equation for it, it's π = c ÷ d = c ÷ 2r, which gives you c = πd = 2πr, where c is the circumference and d is the diameter.

Since it repeats endlessly without any pattern, people use it to test their memories in competitions. The current world record for remembering pi is 100 000 decimal places, set by Akira Haraguchi on 3 October 2006.

2006-12-11 11:36:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Pi is the ratio between A circle's diameter and circumference. The Circumference (distance around the whole circle) is 3.14159...etc. times more than the Diameter (distance across the middle). Therefore the formula is c=d(pi)

2006-12-11 10:29:52 · answer #2 · answered by nightshadyraytiprocshadow 2 · 1 0

It is a number that exists in nature (like "e"), describing a mathematical relationship between the the distance around a circle and any line that cuts through the center (diameter).

Although irrational, it is also constant, so we use a symbol rather than writing it out.

2006-12-11 10:28:05 · answer #3 · answered by mr_mumbles_nyc 3 · 1 0

For one thing, it's spelled "pi"...
It is the ratio between a circle's circumference and its diameter. It is roughly 3.14.
It is an irrational number.
Many geeks like to memorize it to insane precision.
I hope this helped.

2006-12-11 10:26:53 · answer #4 · answered by anonymousperson 4 · 1 0

It's the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle and is never ending. 3.14159265...

2006-12-11 10:30:09 · answer #5 · answered by m e r e d i th 4 · 1 0

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2016-12-18 11:37:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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