Cutting π

Try Cutting π – An outdoor activity to show you what pi’s really made of! ​

Welcome to International Day of Math

Supplies:​

A few circular objects like a Frisbee, a bucket, a tree stump, or ANY circular objects you find outside that have a flat surface you can measure across and are round (or DRAW different size circles on the sidewalk)​

String or yarn
Scissors
Tape​

How to:​

Carefully wrap the string around the circumference of your object. Cut the string when it is the same length as the circumference. ​

Now take your “string circumference” and stretch it across the diameter of your circular object. ​

Cut as many “string diameters” from your “string circumference” as you can. How many diameters could you cut? ​

What do you notice? If you try laying them out on the ground and taping them back together you should see a pattern develop – even if the circles are different sizes. Good Luck!!

(Based on Cutting π https://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/activities)

Download this Outside with Pi Activity sheet