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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

A SLICE
OF PI
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1 Warm up

Use the picture to define these terms.

1. Diameter the distance across a circle

2. Radius the distance from the edge of a circle to the middle point

3. circumference the distance around the circle

4. 3.141592 the value of the Greek letter pi, which can be used to find the size of the circle
Answer the questions:

1. Did you know that we celebrate Pi Day on the 14th of March every year? Why do you think this
date was chosen?
2. Why do you think there is a special day to celebrate pi?

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A SLICE OF PI

2 Vocabulary

You are going to watch a TED talk called, "The Infinite Life of Pi". Before you watch, match these
words from the video with their meanings.

Group 1

1. calculate a. accurate and exact

2. estimate b. find the size or amount of something, usually using a number, for
example 50 cm or 3 kg
3. figure out c. learn something so well that you can remember it without any
mistakes
4. measure d. make a guess about the size or amount of something

5. memorize e. understand or find a solution to a problem

6. precise f. work with numbers to find a new number or amount, by adding,

subtracting, multiplying or dividing

Group 2

1. density a. a type of something

2. form b. something that exists in a very tiny size

3. orbit c. strong thin rope that we use to tie things

4. particle d. the number of things in a place, compared to the size of the place

5. string e. the path a satellite takes when it travels around a planet

6. wave f. the shape that some types of energy (like sound or light) make

Answer the questions:

1. Which words in Group 1 are near synonyms? calculate a formal / figure out a informal

2. What part of speech are most of the words in Group 1? Which one is different? adig
3. Which part of speech are the words in Group 2? nonv

4. Which of the words in Group 2 is the least scientific? string

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3 Watch for main idea

For each of the five topics, choose the best item to complete the sentence, according to the video.
Then watch the video to check.

1. Measuring circles - Something that won’t directly measure the circumference of a circle: measuring
tape / a ruler / string.
2. The history of pi - A group of people who didn’t have some estimated form of pi: the Greeks / the
Mayans / the Chinese.
3. The precise value of pi - For most calculations, scientists use a value of pi that is this many numbers
in length: 40 / 67,000 / a quadrillion.
4. Some scientific uses of pi - We don’t use pi to understand the orbit ofsatellites / medicine / music.
5. Pi in physics - We don’t use pi in this type of research: the density of the universe / how light
works / life on other planets.

4 Mathematical vocabulary

Read the examples and answer the questions to define ten mathematical terms. (Note that the
numbers in the video and the exercise are written using the anglophone convention for commas and
full-stops.)

ratio: For every three boys in the class, there were two girls (3:2).

fraction: They ate 2/3 (two thirds) of the pie so there was 1/3 (one third) left.

1. Which term describes how one whole thing is divided?

2. Which term compares two types of thing?

digit: My mobile phone number has eleven digits.

decimal place: Here, pi has been described to six decimal places, 3.141592.

1. Which term refers to any of the numbers from 0 to 9?

2. Which term indicates the part of a number that is smaller than 1?

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A SLICE OF PI

equation: 3 + 19 = 2 x 11

statistics: 23% of people in this population are taller than 160 cm.

1. Which term describes an area of mathematics where facts are expressed as numbers?

2. Which term means a mathematical statement that shows two items are equal?

volume: This bottle can hold 1 litre of water.

curve: You can see from the line on the graph that most days the temperature was over
20 degrees.

1. Which term describes how much space is inside an object?

2. Which term is a graphic representation of how two sets of information relate to each other, for
example, number of days and temperature?

whole numbers: For example, 10, 34, 98, 876, but not -13, 3/4, 6.73.

irrational numbers: A number with infinite digits in its decimal places.

1. Which term refers to basic numbers that we use for counting?

2. Which term refers to a number whose decimal places never end?

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5 Watch for detail

Read these sentences from the video, which include mathematical vocabulary in bold. Decide if the
sentences are true or false. Watch the video to check your ideas.

1. In a circle, the ratio of the circumference divided by the diameter will always be the same number.
2. By the year 1400, the value of pi had been calculated to as far as twelve decimal places.
3. Pi is an irrational number, which means that it can sometimes be expressed as a ratio of two whole
numbers.
4. We can try to express pi as a whole number, but the fraction will never be completely precise
because the digits of pi continue forever.
5. We test the accuracy of new computers by asking them to calculate pi.
6. Some people can remember 6,700 digits of pi.
7. We use pi to calculate the volume of boxes.
8. Pi is also useful for equations that describe the shape of curves, so it can help us understand test
scores.

Answer these questions:

1. Which of the terms in bold do you think will be the most useful for you when you use English?
2. Which will be the least useful?
3. What was the most interesting or surprising thing you saw in the video?

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A SLICE OF PI

Transcripts

3. Watch for main idea

Reynaldo Lopes: Try to measure a circle. The diameter and radius are easy, they’re just straight lines
you can measure with a ruler. But to get the circumference, you’d need measuring
tape or a piece of string, unless there was a better way.

Reynaldo Lopes: Now, it’s obvious that a circle’s circumference would get smaller or larger along
with its diameter, but the relationship goes further than that. In fact, the ratio
between the two, the circumference divided by the diameter, will always be the
same number, no matter how big or small the circle gets. Historians aren’t sure
when or how this number was first discovered, but it’s been known in some form
for almost 4,000 years.

Reynaldo Lopes: Estimates of it appear in the works of ancient Greek, Babylonian, Chinese, and
Indian mathematicians. And it’s even believed to have been used in building the
Egyptian pyramids. Mathematicians estimated it by inscribing polygons in circles.
And by the year 1400, it had been calculated to as far as ten decimal places.

Reynaldo Lopes: So, when did they finally figure out the exact value instead of just estimating?
Actually, never! You see, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is
what’s known as an irrational number, one that can never be expressed as a ratio
of two whole numbers.

Reynaldo Lopes: You can come close, but no matter how precise the fraction is, it will always be just
a tiny bit off. So, to write it out in its decimal form, you’d have an on-going series of
digits starting with 3.14159 and continuing forever! That’s why, instead of trying
to write out an infinite number of digits every time, we just refer to it using the
Greek letter pi.

Reynaldo Lopes: Nowadays, we test the speed of computers by having them calculate pi, and
quantum computers have been able to calculate it up to two quadrillion digits.
People even compete to see how many digits they can memorise and have set
records for remembering over 67,000 of them. But for most scientific uses, you
only need the first forty or so. And what are these scientific uses?

Reynaldo Lopes: Well, just about any calculations involving circles, from the volume of a can of soda
to the orbits of satellites. And it’s not just circles, either. Because it’s also useful in
studying curves, pi helps us understand periodic or oscillating systems like clocks,
electromagnetic waves, and even music.

Reynaldo Lopes: In statistics, pi is used in the equation to calculate the area under a normal
distribution curve, which comes in handy for figuring out distributions of
standardized test scores, financial models, or margins of error in scientific results.

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Reynaldo Lopes: As if that weren’t enough, pi is used in particle physics experiments, such as
those using the Large Hadron Collider, not only due to its round shape, but more
subtly, because of the orbits in which tiny particles move. Scientists have even
used pi to prove the illusive notion that light functions as both a particle and an
electromagnetic wave, and, perhaps most impressively, to calculate the density of
our entire universe, which, by the way, still has infinitely less stuff in it than the
total number of digits in pi.

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