Mathematical Pi

I thought I would start off my math blog with a Mathematics Song I've always enjoyed entitled "Mathematical Pi". This is a video version from youtube:



The song was initially written Ken Ferrier & Antoni Chan. Here is another version on a website: http://www.vvc.edu/ph/TonerS/mathpi.html

I've used this in class to remind students a few facts about pi as well as take them through a short history of the number Pi.

1. Pi is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
2. Pi is a constant.
3. Pi is NOT 22/7 nor is it just 3.14 or 3.141. These are approximations we use for the sake of easy calculations as they won't affect the accuracy of our answers much.
4. Pi is irrational (i.e. you cannot represent it as a fraction nor can you express it as a recurring decimal.) Well... you can represent all recurring decimals as a fraction.

I recommend using this song as a memory aid if you really want to impress people with how many sig figs you know pi to. (Just don't go challenging Daniel Tammet... his record is 22,514 digits)