As the primary center of learning in ancient times, the Royal Library lured many great scholars to its halls. There, he made the first accurate measurement of the earth's circumference. The actual equatorial circumference is 24,902 miles. In 150 AD, Claudius Ptolemy recomputed this measurement based on the altitude shift of Canopus, second brightest star in the sky. His figure equaled 18,000 miles.
Students are to determine the circumference of a pizza, given only one slice.
Have the students measure the length of the left-over crust. A single slice contains enough information to determine the pizza's circumference. In order to compute how many slices make up a full pizza, students can cut out copies of several slices and piece them together to form one pie. More advanced students can measure the slice's angle with a protractor and do the computations mathematically.