Life of Pi

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1. 
   linda-allen Teacher
   High School - 10th Grade

   Pi's full name is Piscine Molitor Patel. He was named after a family friend, who loved to swim and whose favorite swimming pool was the Piscine Molitor in Paris. Instead of giving their son their friend's name, Pi's parents named him after the pool! Because he is constantly teased about his name ("Pissing Patel"), he decides to shorten it simply to Pi.

   I'm not great at math, but I do know that pi is a mathematical figure that represents the number 3.14. According to Math Forum (linked below), it is an irrational number because it cannot be expressed as a fraction. It is also a constant: "Pi is always the same number, no matter which circle you use to compute it." It is also an ancient number, known to the Egyptians and the Babylonians.

   In changing his name, Pi goes from being a joke to being a significant "number"--maybe a little irrational, but constant as well. 

   Sources:

   http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.pi.html

   http://www.enotes.com/life-pi

   http://www.enotes.com/life-pi/characters

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   Posted by linda-allen on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 8:04 PM
   
   

2. 
   zytec Teacher
   

   Pi can be expressed as a fraction 22/7

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   Posted by zytec on Monday March 17, 2008 at 3:00 PM
   
   

3. 
   angus-trout

   Pi or π is one of the most important mathematical constants, approximately equal to 3.14159. It represents the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter in Euclidean geometry, which is the same as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius. Many formulas from mathematics, science, and engineering involve π.

   AND IT CANNOT BE REPRESENTED AS A FRACTION

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   Posted by angus-trout on Tuesday April 22, 2008 at 9:13 PM
   
   

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