The Mystery Ratio Worksheet
Name:___________________________________________________ Date:_________________
Use the data you collected and calculated in the Circular Measurements worksheet to answer the following questions.
1. What do you notice about the Mystery Ratio for each object?
2. What whole number is this ratio near?
3. The mystery ratio has a special name: pi. Based on the activity you did, create a mathematical definition for pi. Use the vocabulary you have learned in your definition. (Hint: Look at the column headings of your worksheet!)
Pi is:
Pi is an irrational number. That means it has a decimal component that never
repeats and never ends. Think about that for a second! It goes on forever and
ever with no pattern. In order to make it easier to use pi, mathematicians often
use the value 3.141.
4. Look up the word "irrational" in the dictionary. What is the non-mathematical definition of the word?
5. Does the non-mathematical definition reflect the mathematical definitions? Explain a possible connection.
6. Look at the mystery ratios on your worksheet. How close do your ratios come to 3.14?
7. Why might your ratios be a bit different? Think of more than one reason if you can.8. Pi exists in nature. List at least five objects in the natural world that have some sort of circular shape to them.
9. Someone brings a huge pizza into the room and tells you that the diameter of the pizza is 4 feet. Use your knowledge of pi to estimate what the circumference of the pizza is. (You do not need a calculator. Just estimate.)
Estimate:
10. Would you rather have a pizza that has a circumference of 36 inches or a
diameter of 36 inches? Explain your answer.
Return to lesson Discovering the Magical Pi
