Here's your project, and it is excellent. We'll be approximating the value of pi using the method that Archimedes developed over 2,000 years ago. Start this project as soon as possible so that you will have enough time to come in for help if you need it. Also, you might try playing around with the interactive applet on the NOVA website by clicking on link below.

First, try to figure it out using your own brain. If that fails, try enlisting the help of someone else's brain: the Internet, your really smart friend, your teacher. Your grade will not come from the completion of this packet; it basically contains an investigation that will lead you to develop some formulas that you will use in class.

Pi

Alex Bellos talks about the celebrity nature of the number pi, while Professor Roger Bowley demonstrates how Archimedes approximated pi with a cereal bowl. Numberphile. Duration_9_41

Calculating Pi by Hand

Matt Parker hilariously adds and subtracts a bunch of fractions to arrive at an approximation of pi. Standupmaths. Duration_18_39

Calculating Pi with a Pendulum

Matt Parker channels his hungriest Edgar Allen Poe and attempts to approximate pi using a Pi-endulum. Standupmaths. Duration_4_14

Calculating Pi by Weighing a Circle

Matt Parker celebrates Ultimate pi day, 3-14-15, by approximating pi with some cardboard and a makeshift compass. Standupmaths. Duration_4_13

Calculating Pi with Real Pies

Matt Parker approximates pi using a delicious method that predates (historically) Archimedes's [citation needed]. Numberphile. Duration_3_13

Generating Pi from 1,000 Random Numbers

Dungeon Master Matt Parker approximates pi using a pair of D120 dice which, according to The Dice Lab, is the largest possible, mathematically balanced die. Standupmaths. Duration_18_39

Pi is Beautiful

James Grime enthusiastically details how data visualization can make math tolerably beautiful to arithmophobes. Numberphile. Duration_8_23