Okay, now that you have the basics of Pi down, you’re ready to go on a little scavenger hunt. See how many Pi-related items you can find:
- A toy that is a circle
- The numbers 3, 1, and 4
- A picture of a pie
- A calculator
- The words “circumference” or “diameter” in a book or magazine
- Something that is 3.14 inches (or centimeters or feet) long
- A circular object that is smaller than your hand
- A circular object that would fit inside of your desk at school
- A circular object that you could stand inside
- A yellow circular object
- A red circular object
- A game that includes circular objects in its play
- Candy that comes in circular pieces
- A recipe for a pie
How many did you find? Did you find anything else that related to pie?
Many professions use Pi in their day to day work, from mathematicians, to astrophysicists, even game designers use Pi when they code their games!
Video game designers use all sorts of math to program gameplay, animate scenes and characters, and simulate realistic textures for things like water and grass. Most of the math they use is calculus and algebra but they wouldn’t be able to do those calculations without understanding Pi.
Astrophysicists use Pi to the trajectories of space craft. A trajectory is the path through space and time that an object follows.