Pizza Pi

"Papa John’s pizzas come in four sizes: S, M, L & XL. But which is the best deal? We’ll calculate the area of each circle and the cost per square inch to find out."  This web site provides a slide show, lesson plan, and a student handout. Use the area of a circle to extend problem solving in real world math.

Weblink address (URL): 
Pizza Pi

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives: 

Students will:

  • Given the diameters and prices of different pizzas, evaluate several methods of comparing their relative values
  • Use the diameter of a pizza to calculate its area
  • Calculate price per square inch as a unit rate and use it as a basis of comparison
  • Decompose a pizza’s area into “crust” (annulus) and “pizza” (circle) and represent those areas as percents

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Applying

Helpful Hints

Additional Material(s):

  • colored pencils (optional)

References

Contributors: 
Paula Cox
Originator: 
Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation