Pi as an arc length
One way of computing pi is to compute the arc length of the
first quadrant of the unit circle, then multiply by 2. One way
of computing the length of any curve is to approximate it by a
broken-line path, as in the figure eventually to be placed
below. The length of the broken-line figure will approximate
the length of the curve. If there are very many short line
segments the approximation will be a good one.
To find the length of the broken-line path we find the
length of each of its segments, then add them up.
Using this idea, write a program to compute an approximate
value of pi.
Back to syllabus
Back to Department of Mathematics, University of Utah
Last modified: Feb 21, 1995
Copyright © 1995 Department of Mathematics, University of
Utah