The pizza deal
Same price: one 18 inch pizza or two 12 inch pizzas. Which one gets you more pizza?
One 18 in?
Two 12 in?
Make your guess to see the answer.
Loading
Naija
MathGenesis assistant
Hi, I'm Naija, the MathGenesis assistant. I can help you find the right course, explain pricing or get your first session booked. What are you looking for?
One big pizza or two small ones? Geometry settles the argument.
Same price: one 18 inch pizza or two 12 inch pizzas. Which one gets you more pizza?
Make your guess to see the answer.
A pizza is a circle, and the area of a circle is π times the radius squared. An 18 inch pizza has a radius of 9 inches, so its area is about 254 square inches. A 12 inch pizza has a radius of 6 inches, about 113 square inches, and two of them make about 226.
The secret is the square. Make the radius one and a half times bigger and the area grows two and a quarter times. That is why one large pizza usually beats two smaller ones, and why a 16 inch pizza is a lot more than a 14 inch one.
Students meet this idea in Geometry, and again in Algebra whenever they work with squares and scale factors.
Every one of them runs on the math and physics we teach.
So, impressed?
Imagine what an hour a week with a patient tutor can do.