Description
This is a project to be used with Geometer's Sketchpad. Students create polygons within circles, similar to the method used by Archimedes. Students will calculate the ratio of the perimeter of the polygon to the diameter of the circle. In each step the number of sides of the polygon increase. Thus, the polygon gets closer to appearing to be a circle. As students calculate the ratio of the perimeter to the radius, the value gets closer to the value of Pi.
Highlights
Description
This is a project to be used with Geometer's Sketchpad. Students create polygons within circles, similar to the method used by Archimedes. Students will calculate the ratio of the perimeter of the polygon to the diameter of the circle. In each step the number of sides of the polygon increase. Thus, the polygon gets closer to appearing to be a circle. As students calculate the ratio of the perimeter to the radius, the value gets closer to the value of Pi.




