Using food to find out the value of pi? Believe it or not, of all the endless ways to approximate the most widespread irrational number in the universe, few are more interesting or satisfying than throwing food into your kitchen. In fewer steps than it takes to surround your home with loafs of bread, you too can add a slice more to your dinner menu. The best part is that it actually works!
Steps
Method 1 of 1: Calculate Pi Greek By Throwing Frozen Wurstel
Step 1. Choose a food to toss
It has to meet some requirements. First, it needs to be long, thin and straight, just like a frozen sausage. Then it must be reasonably rigid. Finally it must be 15-20 centimeters long; the experiment can also be done in another way, but if you keep reading, you will understand why this dimension is ideal. There are many other foods that meet these criteria, such as celery and churros. (If you don't like the idea of throwing good food to eat, read the Tips section for some alternative ideas.)
Step 2. Choose the spot from which to throw your math foods
You will need about 180-300cm in front of you, because you will be throwing in a straight line.
Step 3. Clear the area
The point you will launch must be free of objects that could interfere with the flight of the food. Therefore, if you are throwing in the kitchen, move the table to another room or at least throw in such a way that the food does not hit it in its path.
Step 4. Measure the length of the bullet
A tailor's tape will be fine for the fit. Try to be precise to the millimeter for the most accurate results. Length is a factor, so it's best to choose foods of identical size. If you have chosen a food that is not uniform, such as celery, cut them so that they all bark the same length.
Step 5. Spread duct tape in parallel strips across the floor at a distance of the length of a bullet
The stripes should be perpendicular to the direction you are throwing. If your food is 15-45cm long, lay out 6-10 strips; you will have to put less if it will be longer and more if it will be shorter.
Step 6. On a piece of paper, write a "Throw" column and a "Crossing" column
In the "Throws" column you will have to report the number of food throws. In the "Crossings" column you will have to report the number of times one of the objects thrown will stop astride a strip.
Step 7. Get in position and THROW FOOD
Throw one food at a time. When it stops, see if it is crossing a strip. If so, make a mark under "Crosses" and one under "Launch". If not, make a mark only under "Launch". When you're done with the frankfurters, pick them up and throw them again, making sure you throw from the same position. Repeat as many times as you want. You should start noticing interesting results after 100 or 200 flips. (It won't take long).
Step 8. When you are done, divide the number of crosses by two and divide the number of flips by the result of that operation
For example, if you rolled 300 times, and the intersections were 191, you would get 300 / (191/2). To your amazement, you will have gotten a closer approximation!
Advice
- If you have space problems, you can draw lines on a piece of paper and throw toothpicks on 90 cm of paper. It's not as good as throwing food, but it works.
- This type of approach (using random numbers to experimentally solve a problem) is also known as the Monte Carlo Method.
- The more food you throw, the better! If you throw two or three foods together, you will get a better approximation faster, because you will get a higher sample of flips in less time.
- For those who don't want to pull good food to eat, you can pull sticks or pencils. In fact, all objects will be fine if they are long, thin, straight and stiff. The thinner, the better.
- For those who love math, this experiment really works! You can find proof and other details at mathworld.wolfram.com: Buffon Needle Problem.
Warnings
- While frankfurters are clearly the funniest food to throw, a true mathematician would tell you the results would be more accurate with thinner foods and strips. Try using raw spaghetti for greater accuracy.
- Hitting someone in the eye with a frankfurter, especially if it's frozen, while a lot of fun, is generally not a good idea.
- Remember this is an experiment, so the idea is not to TRY to drop the frankfurters so that they cross a line. You will have to throw them in a causal way.
- Resist the temptation to use bananas. Not only are they not really straight, but they won't last more than 50 tosses before spilling all over the kitchen.
- If you have a pet, they might eat the food you throw and ruin your experiment. Try keeping the animals out of the kitchen for the duration of the experiment.
