The Pi Trivia Game

by Eve Andersson

     

Home : Pi : The Pi Trivia Game

Finally this is your chance to pay tribute to the magnificent transcendental number that we have all grown to love! Here are 25 questions (given to you 5 at a time), picked randomly from my pi question database. Get ready for the thrill of your lifetime, the ultimate challenge, The Pi Trivia Game!

1. One way to calculate the value of pi is to find the perimeter of polygons inscribing and circumscribing a circle. The circumference of the circle lies in between those two values, and the values approach pi as the number of sides of the polygon approaches infinity. Who originated this method of pi approximation?




2. The physicist Willebrord Snellius (1580-1626) found polygons which better approximated the perimeter of circles than do inscribed and circumscribed polygons. Better perimeter approximations lead to more quickly converging pi approximations. What scientific discovery is Snellius best known for?




3. Which of the following fractions most closely approximates pi?




4. There was a time (a while ago) when people were trying very hard to 'square the circle.' It was said at the time that it was even an illness and a name was given to it. What is it?




5. Say you have a rope wrapped tightly around the earth at the equator. How much longer would you have to make the rope if you wanted the rope to be exactly 1 foot above the surface the whole way around? (assume that the earth has a constant radius at the equator)
eve@eveandersson.com