Pi represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to diameter. It’s commonly used in many geometry problems. Let’s learn how to use pi in Microsoft Excel.
How to Find Pi in Microsoft Excel
Pi runs to virtually unlimited digits. Obviously, you don’t want to try inputting the number yourself! Thanks to Microsoft Excel, pi is easy to calculate. That’s because Excel has a built-in pi function.
If you want to display the value of pi, click into an empty cell. Type =, the first input used in every single Excel formula. Then, continue by typing pi().
Finally, hit Enter, and Excel will return the solution: 3.141592654.
From here, you can use the value of pi to multiply other numbers on your spreadsheet. It’s that simple.
How to Use Pi in Excel Formulas
Let’s look at a quick practical example to show how useful pi in Excel can be. Imagine you’re working on a landscaping project to build a brick wall around a circular space. You need to know the circumference of the circle in order to know how many bricks to buy.
Fortunately, there’s a simple math equation to help you. Circumference is computed as 2 * Pi * Radius.
In an empty cell, again start by typing =. Then, continue by typing 2*pi(). Complete the formula by multiplying by your radius. In this example, we’ll use 10.
Your finished formula looks like this:
=2*Pi()*10
Press Enter on your keyboard, and the value shown will be the circumference of your circle:
62.8318531
From there, you can compare the brick’s measurements and determine exactly how many to purchase. This is a good example of how geometry can be used for practical, real-world applications.
Microsoft Excel makes geometry easy, thanks to built-in functions. Use it to solve problems quickly and accurately.
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