A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane which are the same

distance from a given point called the centre. The common distance of the points of a circle from its
center is called its radius. A diameter is a line segment whose endpoints lie on the circle and which
passes through the centre of the circle. The length of a diameter is twice the length of the radius. A circle
is never a polygon because it has no sides or vertices.
Circles are simple closed curves which divide the plane into two regions, an interior and an
exterior. In everyday use the term "circle" may be used interchangeably to refer to either the
boundary of the figure (known as the perimeter) or to the whole figure including its interior, but
in strict technical usage "circle" refers to the perimeter while the interior of the circle is called a
disk. The circumference of a circle is the perimeter of the circle (especially when referring to its
length).
A circle is a special ellipse in which the two foci are coincident. Circles are conic sections
attained when a right circular cone is intersected with a plane perpendicular to the axis of the
cone.
The circle has been known since before the beginning of recorded history. It is the basis for
the wheel, which, with related inventions such as gears, makes much of modern civilization
possible. In mathematics, the study of the circle has helped inspire the development of geometry
and calculus.
Early science, particularly geometry and Astrology and astronomy, was connected to the divine
for most medieval scholars, and many believed that there was something intrinsically "divine" or
"perfect" that could be found in circles.

Some highlights in the history of the circle are:

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 • 1700 BC – The Rhind papyrus gives a method to find the area of a circular field. The
result corresponds to 256/81 as an approximate value of π.
• 300 BC – Book 3 of Euclid's Elements deals with the properties of circles.
• 1880 – Lindemann proves that π is transcendental, effectively settling the millennia-old
problem of squaring the circle.

There are a lot of things around us related to circles or parts of a circles. We need to play with
circles in order to complete some of the problems involving circles. In this project I will use the
principles of circle to design a garden to beautify the school.

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 Wheel of a car Safety sign Roundabout

Ceiling fan Pot in school compound

Before I continue the task, first, we do have to know what do pi(π) related to a circle.

Definition
In Euclidean plane geometry, π is defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its

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diameter:

The ratio C/d is constant, regardless of a circle's size. For example, if a circle has twice the
diameter d of another circle it will also have twice the circumference C, preserving the ratio C/d.
Area of the circle = π × area of the shaded square
Alternatively π can be also defined as the ratio of a circle's area (A) to the area of a square whose
side is
equal to the radius:

These definitions depend on results of

Euclidean geometry, such as the fact that all circles are similar.
This can be considered a problem when π occurs in areas of
mathematics that otherwise do not involve geometry. For this
reason, mathematicians often prefer to define π without reference
to geometry, instead selecting one of its analytic properties as a
definition. A common choice is to define π as twice the smallest
positive x for which cos(x) = 0.[6] The formulas below illustrate
other (equivalent) definitions.

History
The ancient Babylonians calculated the area of a circle by taking 3 times the square of its
radius, which gave a value of pi = 3. One Babylonian tablet (ca. 1900–1680 BC) indicates a
value of 3.125 for pi, which is a closer approximation.

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In the Egyptian Rhind Papyrus (ca.1650 BC), there is evidence that the Egyptians calculated the
area of a circle by a formula that gave the approximate value of 3.1605 for pi.

The ancient cultures mentioned above found their approximations by measurement. The first
calculation of pi was done by Archimedes of Syracuse (287–212 BC), one of the greatest
mathematicians of the ancient world. Archimedes approximated the area of a circle by using the
Pythagorean Theorem to find the areas of two regular polygons: the polygon inscribed within the
circle and the polygon within which the circle was circumscribed. Since the actual area of the
circle lies between the areas of the inscribed and circumscribed polygons, the areas of the
polygons gave upper and lower bounds for the area of the circle. Archimedes knew that he had
not found the value of pi but only an approximation within those limits. In this way, Archimedes
showed that pi is between 3 1/7 and 3 10/71.

A similar approach was used by Zu Chongzhi (429–501), a brilliant Chinese mathematician and
astronomer. Zu Chongzhi would not have been familiar with Archimedes’ method—but because
his book has been lost, little is known of his work. He calculated the value of the ratio of the
circumference of a circle to its diameter to be 355/113. To compute this accuracy for pi, he must
have started with an inscribed regular 24,576-gon and performed lengthy calculations involving
hundreds of square roots carried out to 9 decimal places.

Mathematicians began using the Greek letter π in the 1700s. Introduced by William Jones in
1706, use of the symbol was popularized by Euler, who adopted it in 1737.
An 18th century French mathematician named Georges
Q Buffon devised a way to calculate pi
based on probability.

(a) A

P R
B
d1 d2
10 cm

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 Diagram 1
Diagram 1 shows a semicircle PQR of diameter 10cm. Semicircles PAB and BCR of diameter d1
and d2 respectively are inscribed in PQR such that the sum of d1 and d2 is equal to 10cm. By
using various values of d1 and corresponding values of d2, here is the relation between length of
arc PQR, PAB, and BCR.
Using formula: Arc of semicircle = ½πd

d1 D2 Length of arc PQR in Length of arc PAB in Length of arc BCR in

(cm) (cm) terms of π (cm) terms of π (cm) terms of π (cm)
9
1 9 5π ½π /2 π
2 8 5π π 4π
3 7
3 7 5π /2 π /2 π
4 6 5π 2π 3π
5 5
5 5 5π /2π /2 π
6 4 5π 3π 2π
7 3
7 3 5π /2 π /2 π
8 2 5π 4π π
9
9 1 5π /2 π ½π
Table 1

From the Table 1 we know that the length of arc PQR is not affected by the different in d1 and d2
in PAB and BCR respectively. The relation between the length of arcs PQR , PAB and BCR is
that the length of arc PQR is equal to the sum of the length of arcs PAB and BCR, which is we
can get the equation:

SPQR = S + S PAB BCR

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 Let d1= 4, and d2 =6 SPQR = S + S PAB BCR

5π = ½ π(4) + ½ π(6)
5π = 2π + 3π
5π = 5π

(b)

E
C
A

P R
B D
d1 d2 d3
10
cm

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 Diagram 2

Diagram 2 shows a semicircle PQR of diameter 10 cm. semicircles PAB, BCD and DER of
diameter d1, d2, and d3 respectively are inscribed in the semicircle PQR such that the sum of d1,
d2, and d3 is equal to 10 cm.

(i) By using various values of d1, d2 and the corresponding values of d3, here is the relation
between the lengths of arcs PQR, PAB, BCD and DER.

Using formula: Arc of semicircle = ½πd

d1 d2 D3 Length of arc Length of arc Length of arc Length of arc

(cm) (cm) (cm) PQR in terms of PAB in terms of BCD in terms of DER in terms of
π (cm) π (cm) π (cm) π (cm)
1 7
1 2 7 5π /2 π π /2 π
2 2 6 5π π π 3π
3 5
2 3 5 5π π /2 π /2 π
2 4 4 5π π 2π 2π
5 3
2 5 3 5π π /2 π /2 π

Table 2

From the Table 2 we know that the length of arc PQR is not affected by the different in d1, d2 and
d3 in PAB, BCR and DER respectively. The relation between the length of arcs PQR , PAB, BCR
and DER is that the length of arc PQR is equal to the sum of the length of arcs PAB, BCR and
DER which is we can get the equation:

SPQR = S + S + S
PAB BCR DER

SPQR = SPAB + SBCD + SDER

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 Let d1 = 2, d2 = 3, d3 = 5 SPQR = SPAB + SBCD + SDER
3 5
5π = π + /2 π + /2 π

5π = 5π

(ii) The length of arc of outer semicircle is equal to the sum of the length of arc of inner
semicircle for n = 1,2,3,4,….

Souter = S1 + S2 + S3 + S4 + S5

(c) Assume the diameter of outer semicircle is 40 cm and 4 semicircles are inscribed in the
outer semicircle such that the sum of d1 (APQ), d2(QRS), d3(STU), d4(UVC) is equal to
40 cm.

d1 d2 d3 d4 Length of Length of Length of Length of Length of

(cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) arc ABC in arc APQ in arc QRS in arc STU in arc UVC in
terms of π terms of π terms of π terms of π terms of π
(cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm)

11 9
10 11 10 9 20 π 5π /2 π 5π /2 π

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 15 5
15 14 6 5 20 π /2 π 7π 3π /2π
9 7
16 9 7 8 20 π 8π /2π /2 π 4π
17 7
17 12 7 4 20 π /2 π 6π /2 π 2π

Table 3

From the Table 3 we know that the length of arc ABC is not affected by the different in d1, d2,
d3 and d4 in APQ, QRS, STU and UVC respectively. The relation between the length of arcs
ABC, APQ, QRS, STU and UVC is that the length of arc ABC is equal to the sum of the length of
arcs APQ, QRS, STU and UVC which is we can get the equation:

SABC = S + S + S + S
APQ QRS STU UVC

let d1=10, d2=11, d3=10, d4=9 SABC = SAPQ + SQRS + SSTU + SUVC
1
/ π(40 = 1/2 π(10) + 1/2 π(11) + 1/2 π(10) + 1/2 π(9)
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20 π = 5 π + /2 π + 5 π + 9/2 π
20 π = 20 π

TheThe Mathematics Society is given a task to design a garden to beautify the school by using
the design as shown in diagram 3. The shaded region will be planted with flowers and the two
inner semicircles are fish ponds.
D

A C
B 10 -
xm
x
10 m

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 Diagram 3
(a) The area of the flower plot is y m2 and the diameter of one of the fish ponds is x m.
Express y in terms of π and x.

a. Area of flower plot = Area of the semicircle ABCD – [Area of the semicircle AEB +
Area of the semicircle BFC]
y = ½ (10/2)2 π – [ ½ (x/2)2 π + ½ (10-x/2)2 π ]
= (25/2) π - [ 1/2(x/2)2 π + ½ (10-x/2)2 π ]
= (25/2) π - [ 1/2(x/2)2 + 1/2 (100-20x+x2)/4 π ]
= (25/2) π – [ x2/8 π + ( (100 - 20x + x2)/8) π ]
= (25/2) π - (x2π + 100π – 20 π + x2π)/8
= (25/2) π - (2x2 – 20x + 100)/8) π
= (25/2) π - ((x2 – 10x + 50)/4)
= ((25/2) - (x2 - 10x + 50)/4) π
y = (10x – x2)/4 π

( d) The cost of constructing the fish ponds is higher than that of the flower plot. Use two
methods to determine the area of the flower plot such that the cost of constructing the garden
is minimum.

Differentiation method
y = [(10x-x2)/4] π
dy/dx = ( 10/4 – 2x/4) π
5
0 = /2 π – x/2 π
5 x
/2 π = /2 π
x = 5

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Completing square method
y= ((10x – x2)/4) π
5
= /2 π - x2/4 π
-1
= /4 π (x2 – 10x)
y+ 52 = -1
/4 π (x – 5)2
-1
y = /4 π (x - 5)2 - 25
x–5=0
x=5

(b) The principal suggested an additional of 12 semicircles flower beds to the design
submitted by the mathematics society as shown in Diagram 4. The sum of the diameters
of the semicircular flower beds is 10 m.

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n = 12, a = 30cm, S12 = 1000cm

S12 = n/2 (2a + (n – 1)d

Tn Diameter of
1000 = 12/2 ( 2(30) + (12 – 1)d) the flower
(flower bed)
1000 = 6 ( 60 + 11d) beds (cm)
T1 30
1000 = 360 + 66d T2 39.697
T3 49.394
1000 – 360 = 66d T4 59.091
T5 68.788
640 = 66d
T6 78.485
d = 9.697 T7 88.182
T8 97.879
T9 107.576
T10 117.273
T11 126.97 13
T12 136.667
In a nutshell, all the formula we have learned in
additional mathematics about pi, π is slightly related to
our daily life. For instance, by using the formula of area of

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circle, we are able to calculate the area of any circular
objects such as ponds, round table and many more.

The formula used in this project work :

• Area of circle , ½πd

• The sum of a progression, n/2 (2a+(n-1)d)

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