Circle Explorer: Exploring the Area of a Circle (the Archimedes way)

What is "Circle Explorer"?

Circle Explorer is a tool that lets you inscribe and circumscribe regular polygons in a circle.  It can be used to figure out the area and perimeter of Circle.

It lets you figure out for your self, how Archimedes discovered Pi.

Activities:

1. What happens when the # of sides of the Polygon increase?
1. Try it and find out.  Inscribe Circles with polygons ranging from 3 to 10 sides.
2. What do you notice?
2. How close to Pi can you get?
1. make a table records the # of sides of a polygon and the area area of an inscribed Polygon
2. Graph your results
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for a circumscribed triangle
4. Add a column for the radius of the circle
5. Plot the radius/area

Suggestions and Ideas for improvements and other lesson plans are welcome.