Three Strategies to Conquer MaThCliX Digits of Pi Contest

On March 14th, MaThCliX will be hosting our third annual Pi Day, which is filled with a variety of activities for students of all ages. The most anticipated event of the day is the “Digits of Pi” Contest. The rules are simple: whoever wants to participate merely has to recite as many digits of Pi, the famous irrational number, as they can (in order, of course), in other words, master the digits of Pi. The person that says the most digits of Pi accurately wins a Pi Day t-shirt and a pie/cake! Good luck to everyone competing; I hope you find these tips useful! (P.S. make sure you have the correct digits of Pi pulled up on your phone or computer while attempting to memorize it.)

Strategy #1:

One way to memorize the digits of Pi effectively is through auditory learning. Look at the first 5 digits of Pi and say each one of them out loud. Repeat the process four more times while still looking at the correct form of Pi to guide you. Then look away and try to say the five digits by memory. If you get it correct the first time, then repeat it four more times while looking away. However, if you get it wrong the first time, look back at the correct form and repeat the five digits five times while looking again. Next, attempt to say it five times without looking (successfully this time, hopefully). Repeat these steps until you feel like you have those five digits glued to your brain. If you can use this strategy every day for 10 days before the contest, you will have memorized the first 50 digits of Pi!

Strategy #2:

Carry around a piece of paper with Pi written on it. Whenever you have a minute to spare either in the classroom or at home, take out the piece of paper and begin writing the digits of Pi by memory, as many as you can do. Then look at the correct form of Pi and assess how you did. Next, write it again, maybe this time adding one or two digits on to the end. If you make this a habit for a week or two before the contest, you are bound for success.

Strategy #3:

This final strategy is based off the idea that it is easier to remember numbers that have a purpose rather than a random sea of numbers. What you do is assign phone numbers to each set of ten digits in Pi and then attempt to memorize each phone number. It helps to set patterns within the phone numbers to better remember them: make the first letter of the name for the first phone number an “A”, the first letter of the name for the second phone number a “B”, etc. Also, try making the numbers of letter in each name correspond with the first number in that phone number. Try memorizing one phone number every 2 days, and in 10 days you will know 50 digits.

Everyone is different, so a technique that works for one person might not work for another. Experiment with different memorization techniques and find which one works best for YOU. Also, just a reminder: last year’s winner recited 108 digits of Pi. Good luck, and we’ll see you on March 14th!