Pi Problem Set

EXPERIMENT 1: What’s the Pi?
Objective:
To determine the value of π from the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle.
(Actually, the real point of this lab is to introduce you to the concept of uncertainty in
measurements.)
Theory:
It has been known since ancient times that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter
is equal to the transcendental number represented by π. That is,
C = 2πr
π = C/2r, 2r = D
π = C/D
The instruments you use to measure this have a limit to their precision. You will have to estimate
to the nearest mark on the scale you use (use centimeters!). As a general rule your uncertainty in a
measurement can never be less than ±1/2 of the smallest ruled increment on your measurement
tool, but can be higher if there are larger sources of uncertainty than those inherent in the
measurement tool. Can you think of an example of a measurement where the uncertainty is greater
than the precision of the measurement tool?
When reporting measured values, you should estimate the value between two of the most precise
markers on your measuring device. For example, rulers generally are marked to the 1/16 of an
inch, and you can estimate the distance between two markings to the 1/32 of an inch or perhaps
the 1/64 inch level. Measurements made with a ruler therefore have an uncertainty of between
1/32 inch and 1/64 inch, and you shouldn't report any more digits than that.
One method to estimate the precision of a measurement is to repeat the measurement several times.
When you measure a value several times and get slightly different results, you express your
measured value as 𝑥0 ± 𝛿𝑥 where 𝑥0 is the average value from your measurements and 𝛿𝑥 is
called the uncertainty and is half the deviation from the largest to smallest measured values.
Note that the number of significant figures you include in your results is limited by the number of
significant figures in the least precise measurement in your data. Suppose you measured the
circumference to be C = 5.08 cm (which has 3 significant figures) and you measured the diameter
to be D=1.48 cm (which also has 3 significant figures). According to your calculator, the ratio C/D
is equal to 3.432432432. This has 10 significant figures! You must round off this answer to three
significant figures and write C/D = 3.43.
Numbers containing too many significant figures are wrong because they imply a precision that
is not justified by your measurements! For the same reason quantities calculated from measured
values that do not include the uncertainty are wrong. To reiterate, your final result should never
have more significant figures than your least precise measurement, and should always be written
with the associated uncertainty.
Procedure:
Each student will measure the diameter and the circumference of 10 different disks or circular
objects in cm and determine the value of pi (π) for each disk and compare the observed value with
the actual value of pi (π). The results will be recorded in a table similar to the one shown below.
Draw your own data table. Make sure it has a descriptive title and contains units in the headers of
the appropriate columns. Provide pictures for each of the disk that you measured.
Analysis:
1. For each measurement of circumference (C) and diameter (D), determine the value of π by
taking the ratio C/D. Since both C and D have uncertainty in their measurements, be careful
not to quote more than the appropriate number of significant figures in your value of π and
to include the uncertainty in your result. To calculate the uncertainty in π given your
measured uncertainties in C and D, you can use the rules discussed in the “Uncertainty”
section of the module
2. Determine your measured value of π by averaging the results from each disk. You will
have to use the formulas given in the “Uncertainty” section of this module to determine the
uncertainty in this value given the calculated uncertainty in π measured for each disk.
3. Determine the percent difference between each value of π you have calculated and the
accepted value of π =3.14159… Your accepted value of π should only contain the same
number of significant figures as your calculated value.
𝜋𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 − 𝜋𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑
% 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 = | | 𝑥 100
𝜋𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑
Example Data and Results Table:
Disk # Diameter, D (cm) Circumference, 𝐂 Deviation Uncertainty

𝛑=
C (cm) 𝐃
1. coin 12.4±0.2 cm 39.3±0.8 cm 3.17±0.08
(example)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
average
In the example in the data table the calculated value of π is 3.17±0.08 meaning, within the
experimental uncertainty a value as low as 3.09 or as high as 3.25 would be consistent with our
measurement, therefore this example measurement agrees with the accepted value of π. If the
experimental uncertainty were not included however, the values would not agree since 3.17 ≠ 3.14.
Report:
In addition to the standard elements of a well written lab report described in the introduction to
this manual, your report must include:
1. An appropriate title and abstract.

2. The objective of the experiment
3. The general procedure for the experiment.
4. Your data in an appropriate format
5. An example calculation of your uncertainty in π for one of your disks.
6. A graph of your data.
7. A description of any systematic errors present in the experiment and a discussion of how
they were dealt with.
8. A discussion on the uncertainties encountered in the conduct of the experiment and how
they affect the data that you gathered.
9. A summary of your results giving your value for π along with an uncertainty with and
without any systematic errors corrected for.
10. A conclusion that states if you met the objective of the lab (i.e. did your measured value
agree with the accepted value for π?) and some recommendations.

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EXPERIMENT 1: What’s the Pi?

Disk # Diameter, D (cm) Circumference, 𝐂 Deviation Uncertainty

1. An appropriate title and abstract.

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