Which real world problem is most likely to be involved irrational numbers? finging the diameter of a circle on a radius
One real-world problem that commonly involves irrational numbers is finding the diameter of a circle when only the radius is known. The relationship between the diameter (d) and the radius (r) of a circle is given by the formula d = 2r.
Since the value of π (pi), which is approximately 3.14159, is required to calculate the circumference of a circle, and the circumference is related to the diameter by the equation C = πd, irrational numbers come into play.
For example, if you know the radius of a circle is 5 units, you can use the formula d = 2r to find the diameter:
d = 2 * 5
d = 10 units
However, if you want to find the exact diameter of a circle using the value of π, you would have to use the irrational value π. This means the result for the diameter may not be a nice, neat whole number. Instead, it would be an irrational number, such as 2π (approximately 6.28318) times the radius. So, in this case, the exact diameter of a circle with a radius of 5 units would be:
d = 2π * 5
d ≈ 31.4159 units
Therefore, when calculating the diameter of a circle, irrational numbers are likely to be involved due to the irrational value of π.