The Pi Trivia Game

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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 approximate the value of pi is to have a computer pick two random numbers, x and y, each between -1 and 1. If it does so N times, and if, for M of those times x^2 + y^2 < 1, then pi is approximately equal to 4*M/N (presumably becoming more accurate as N increases). This method of approximation is an example of:

the Windelius algorithm
squaring the circle
the Monte Carlo method
guessing
calculation of an infinite series

2. In what year were the first 100 digits of pi first calculated?

48 BC
1947
1492
1701
1812

3. For a given value of N: if you add up the first N decimals of pi (excluding the initial 3), the sum is 666 (not to imply that pi is at all satanic). What is the value of N?

144
169
148
123
121

4. It has been proven impossible to "square the circle." What does it mean to square the circle?

multiply a circle by itself
use a straightedge and compass to construct a square equal in area to a given circle
construct a square that perfectly circumscribes a circle
determine the value of pi squared
draw a circle with area equal to pi * (r squared)

5. What is the earliest known reference to pi?

the Rosetta Stone, inscribed in approximately 200 BC
a Middle Kingdom papyrus scroll, written around 1650 BC by Ahmes the scribe
Euclid's Elements, written in the 3rd century BC
The Uselessness of Pi and its Irrational Friends, written in 1994 AD
the Bible

eve@eveandersson.com