This is the placemat before toothpicks are randomly dropped. |
For my final project, I estimated pi by dropping toothpicks. This topic was fascinating with how dropping toothpicks and using a formula (in the worksheet) can estimate pi (3.14159....). While the first estimation may not seem overly close to that number, the more toothpicks dropped, the closer you will get. I began by dropping 40 toothpicks, and the estimation was relative but was off; I then used 55 toothpicks and got a closer number. There is an online simulation that will drop as many picks as you would like. If you drop 2000+ picks, you will get a similar number to the first or second decimal place. Here is a link to my worksheet. You can also click on the picture of my worksheet to access it. (-->). Download it here.
Here is a link to my Powerpoint. You can also click either of the pictures to the left (<--) to access the Powerpoint. Download it here. |
My Worksheet |