Round pie for pi day
Blog: Nosh On
March 15, 2011
I doubt any of you missed it (how it would be possible is beyond me) but yesterday was Pi Day. March 14, the day math nerd pie lovers look forward to all year long. This day's numerical designation — 3.14 — happen to be the first three letters of the mathematical number that spells magic for all things round: Pi. Who doesn't love pi? And who doesn't love a round (yes, round!) pie? Pi day celebrates two wonderfully nerdy things — mathematical magic and homophones — with one of the most delicious foods on the planet.
In celebration of the fantastic day that is Pi Day, I made pie, apple pie (apples are round-ish). After the pie was made, I calculated all sorts of fun stuff about it using pi.
With a radius of 4.5 inches (I used a 9-inch pie plate), I calculated that took up an area of 63.617 inches. The pie has an approximately 2-inch depth (yes, it has slanted sides, and yes, I've forgotten how to calculate that, oh well) which means that it takes up a volume of approximately 127 inches, cubed. To visualize that, I converted it (using the power of the interwebs, not my brain) to volume in gallons. One pie is equal to just over a half gallon. One slice, if you divide the pie into eight slices, is just over one cup, which is usually measured using a round device. We've come full circle. Heehee.
Advertisements
Comments
Want to comment on this story? All Wenatchee World members are invited to comment on stories, by using the form below. Please know that we at wenatcheeworld.com hope our site is useful, entertaining and civil. So we'll delete comments that are obscene, abusive or way off topic. We appreciate it when readers use the "suggest removal" button to flag inappropriate comments. For more about interacting with the site, see our Use Policy.
John_Barta 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
Well said! Pi R round.
DooRod 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
If only they had this calculation in Columbus's day then there would not have been any question about the world being round.
DooRod 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
Since my cup is round also, may I have a cup of pie?
joanne 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
Nice one, Rochelle. And a beautiful Pie....Pi? I hope it has lots of cinnamon in it. I'd like mine with Breyer's vanilla ice cream, please.
feil 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
Thanks Joanne! It did have plenty of cinnamon in it, and we bought vanilla ice cream to accompany it. Good stuff.
JimboBear 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
Good thing you didn't let me see that. I'd have made it disappear quicker than my GPA used to when I factored in my math scores. Yummmm!
douglas 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
I'll really celebrate 4 years from now on 3/14/15. But would pi r squared be a hand held fruit pie?
feil 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
I know! I'm so excited for 2015! As for the hand-held fruit pie, yeah, it would, if it were round, I think.
Dylan 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
Hey! I was born on Pi day and my initials are DAE...so its Pi dae for me! :o)
feil 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
Happy Birthday!
CJ_Voges 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
(3.14)(.125)+(Chocolate)=(Y+u+m)+(ad infinitum)
KatyDid 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
Nice post, and so impressive! I managed alright in math, but I was never much of a fan. Your post makes me wonder though... What if math had been taught to me via pie instead of Pi? Hmmm, imagine what might have been... ;-)
JimboBear 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
Lisa says: "What if math had been taught to me via pie instead of Pi?"
You probably would have ended up with a shape similar to mine Lisa. Although I was no math whiz, I did (and continue to do) many experiments using equations involving pie, and they have served no useful purpose other than to force me to spend more money on larger pants, which causes me to study simple math in my checkbook more closely.
DooRod 1 year, 2 months ago
Round pie for pi day
I was very fond of pie during my school years, and I can say it never helped me get better grades. Instead of academic growth I experienced a more "physical" growth.
Sign in to comment