For most of the world, today is March 14th, or 3/14. To most, that date doesn’t have any special meaning. But to us math nerds, it means only one thing: today is Pi Day!
Thankfully, it looks like Google has no shortage of number nerds, because the search giant is marking the occasion with a spiffy new logo filled with some of choice geometry formulas.
? (Pi) is the mathematical constant that has helped school children and mathematics professors determine the circumference of a circle based on its diameter for centuries. The constant starts with 3.14 and continues forever (as it is an irrational number). Many math geeks celebrate the famous math constant (and mathematics in general) on every 14th of March because that date represents the first three digits of Pi.
Google’s (
) new logo, which you can see on the top right, contains not only the famous ?r2 formula, but five other uses of ?: measuring the volume of a sphere (V = 4?3 ?r3), computing the circumference of a circle (C = 2?r), measuring the volume of a cylinder (V = ?r2h), Archimedes’ calculation of Pi (223/71 < ? < 22/7), and the periodic function of sin(x).
The Number Pi
Pi represents the relationship between a circle’s diameter (its width) and its circumference (the distance around the circle).
Equations that use Pi
The area of a circle is calculated using Pi and the radius of the circle. This formula inspired the joke "Pies aren't square, they're round!"
To find the volume of a rectangular prisim you calculate length × width × height. In that case, length × width is the area of one side, which is then multiplied by the height of the prism. Similarly, to find the volume of a cylinder, you muliply the area of the base (the area of the circle, which is pi × r²), then multiply that by the height of the cylinder.
Pies are round
Math enthusiasts and assorted geeks around the world are celebrating today as International Pi Day. Not your mom’s apple pie, but the famous constant, ?, equal to the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
The reason Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 is because its first 3 digits are 3.14 (Pi = 3.1415926535...) March 14 also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday. Pi is an irrational number, meaning that the sequence of its decimal digits continues to infinity without repeating itself. The favorite way of celebrating Pi Day among geeks are eating a pie while reciting the first hundred digits of Pi.
Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 224, designating March 14 “National Pi Day.” (Fun fact: The bill number for the recognition of Pi Day is the square-rootable 224 (2*2=4)) Among the numerous “whereas” clauses in HR 224 are the following:
Whereas the Greek letter (Pi) is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter;
Whereas the ratio Pi is an irrational number, which will continue infinitely without repeating, and has been calculated to over one trillion digits;
Whereas, according to the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) survey done by the National Center for Education Statistics, American children in the 4th and 8th grade were outperformed by students in other countries including Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, England, South Korea, Latvia, and Japan;
Whereas by the 8th grade, American males outperform females on the science portion of the TIMSS survey, especially in Biology, Physics, and Earth Science, and the lowest American scores in math and science are found in minority and impoverished school districts;
Whereas mathematics and science can be a fun and interesting part of a child's education, and learning about Pi can be an engaging way to teach children about geometry and attract them to study science and mathematics; and
Whereas Pi can be approximated as 3.14, and thus March 14, 2009, is an appropriate day for 'National Pi Day':
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the designation of a 'Pi Day' and its celebration around the world;
(2) recognizes the continuing importance of National Science Foundation's math and science education programs; and
(3) encourages schools and educators to observe the day with appropriate activities that teach students about Pi and engage them about the study of mathematics.
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