How to Calculate Pi by Throwing Frozen Food
If you've ever wanted an excuse to throw food in the name of math, here's your chance. Calculating pi by throwing frozen food can be a fun way to make a mess and learn something at the same time.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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1
Select a frozen food to throw. Ideally, the food should be long and skinny. Hot dogs are ideal choices. Measure the frank's length; they should be at least 6-inches long and they should all be approximately the same length.
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2
Decide where you want to conduct your food-throwing experiment. You will need at least 6 to 10 feet of clear space in front of you. Clear any objects that might stop your hot dogs in mid-flight.
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3
Lay strips of masking tape down on the floor perpendicular to the direction in which you will be throwing. Lay the pieces of tape parallel with each other and as far apart as the franks are long. Lay down 6 to 10 pieces of tape.
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4
Get out a piece of paper and make two columns. Write the words "Tosses" and "Crosses" at the top of the columns.
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5
Throw your hot dogs, one by one. Put one tally under the "Tosses" column for every throw, and put a tally under the "Crosses" column for every frank that lands across a piece of tape. Make 100 to 200 total throws.
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6
Calculate the results. Multiply the number of tosses by two and divide that number by the number of crosses. The result will be an approximation of pi.
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1
Tips & Warnings
You can use other frozen food items, such as frozen asparagus or corn.
