Back when I was doing my A-levels, I remember learning about how it's possible to evaluate pi in various ways, one of which was through calculus. I can only remember the basics, and I'm sure I can't recall how to do it now - at least not without some help!
The value of pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle (the distance all the way around the outside of the circle) divided by the diameter (the straight-line distance from one side to the other, through the centre). It's been known historically to be about 3, but I'm going to make some approximations from first principles.
Firstly, drawing a square around a circle, so that the square touches the circle. See the diagram above, with the square ABCD around the circle.
If the diameter of the circle is d, then the perimeter of the square is 4d. We can see by inspection that the square's perimeter is longer than the circle's circumference, and we've called the circumference pi d. Therefore, we know that pi is less than 4.
It's not a dramatic result, I know, but it's a start!
Next, we need to look at setting a minimum value for pi, and we'll look at this next time.
The value of pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle (the distance all the way around the outside of the circle) divided by the diameter (the straight-line distance from one side to the other, through the centre). It's been known historically to be about 3, but I'm going to make some approximations from first principles.
Firstly, drawing a square around a circle, so that the square touches the circle. See the diagram above, with the square ABCD around the circle.
If the diameter of the circle is d, then the perimeter of the square is 4d. We can see by inspection that the square's perimeter is longer than the circle's circumference, and we've called the circumference pi d. Therefore, we know that pi is less than 4.
It's not a dramatic result, I know, but it's a start!
Next, we need to look at setting a minimum value for pi, and we'll look at this next time.
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