Food (Literally) for Thought
Have you ever had someone tell you that you’d never need math? Have you ever wondered whether knowing how to use the mathematical formulas you practice in geometry would ever have any application in a real-world situation? Well sit back and prepare for your mind to be blown.
IT’S PIZZA NIGHT
It’s pizza night at the house. Your mom and dad or you and your friends are about to order some delicious pizza pies to be delivered. But wait! How many should you get? Your local pizza joint has a special running. You can get two 12-inch pizzas for just $8.99 each. But you could also get one 18-inch pizza for $15.99. Which is the better deal?
If you want more pizza, ordering two of the 12-inch pies must clearly be the better option, right?. That has to be a pretty easy choice. If you have two pizzas, you’ll obviously have more than if you have just one especially when that one is just 18” and the others are 12” each. Two pizzas = 24 inches. One pizza = 18 inches. Two > one. Can’t get any easier than that. Can it? Right?
LET’S DO THE MATH
Consider that the standard pizza is a circle. We’re not talking about square pizzas or heart-shaped Valentine’s pizzas, we’re considering the basic, regular circular pizza that we all know and (most of us) love.
What do we know about circles from geometry? If we wanted to find the surface area of a circle, what formula would we use?
The area of a circle is determined using the formula:
AREA = pi x r2
In that formula, “R” is the radius of the circle. The radius is half the diameter.
So let’s look at our pizza options and consider the formula to determine the area for each.
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In an 18” pizza, the diameter is 18” so the radius is 9” |
In a 12” pizza, the diameter is 12” so the radius of each is 6” |
| AREA = pi x r2 | AREA = 2pi x r2 |
| Area = 3.14 x 92 | Area = 6.28 x 62 |
| Area = 254 in2 | Area = 226 in2 |
Ok, hold up just a second. Is it actually possible that there is MORE delicious pizza goodness in a single 18” pie than in TWO 12” pies? As it turns out, there is. That one 18" pizza contains more room for crust, sauce, cheese and toppings than two 12" pizzas combined.
The facts don’t lie and math is a universal constant. One single 18” pizza has an area of 254 inches 2 which is most definitely greater than the combined area of two 12” pizzas (226 inches2). That's how you put those math skills to work for you!
In light of this new-found knowledge, which is truly the better deal? Do you get more for your money if you order two 12-inch pizzas for $8.99 each, a total of $17.98, or is the single 18” pizza for $15.99 the better bargain? Not what you thought, is it?
Now that you know the real value, it's time for the hard part. What toppings do you want?
