
Count the number of marbles from one side of the circle to the other.Once you have a circle of marbles, do the following:

If your marbles start to roll, reconsider the flatness of your surface. It should therefore be possible to calculate pi using some marbles and some simple division and multiplication. The area of a circle is pi times the radius squared. One of the first calculations of pi by the Egyptians was believed to have involved a method similar to the one we are using in this experiment. Discovering the Magical Pi, from the Teacher Vision website.Pi, a Very Special Number, from the NRICH website.How accurate is this? How truly circular are the things you are measuring? If you used a One Direction CD, will you have the guts to share this fact with the rest of us? Read more about it… Take the object’s circumference (the bigger number) and divide it by its diameter.Make a note of the number you get this is your object’s diameter.Now lay your ruler across the widest part of your object and measure the length of this.Using your ruler, measure the length between the end of your string and the mark you made, and note this down.Mark the string at the point where it meets.Take your piece of string and wrap it around the widest part of your circular object.So the most direct way to measure pi is to take anything that you can find that is circular and measure the circumference and divide it by the diameter. Pi is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

1 flat circular object, such as a plate, cup, or a CD.

