By ALESHA CAPONE
SUNSHINE College student Eldiana tasted victory last week after she recited hundreds of numbers to win a unique mathematical contest at her school.
The 14-year-old pupil memorised 421 numbers belonging to ‘Pi’, a symbol used to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
Maths experts know Pi has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point and continues infinitely without repetition or pattern – but most people would not know this figure by heart.
However, Eldiana said she spent two days studying ‘Pi’ before she had to recite it in front of her teachers at the college’s annual Pie for Pi Day competition.
Pi Day is celebrated around the world every March and those who memorise the most numbers in a Pi equation are literally rewarded with a pie for their efforts.
Eldiana recited the 420 numbers in under one minute to claim her school’s Pi title.
“I was confident in myself and knew I could do it,” Eldiana said.
“I was happy when I finished and knew my parents would be really proud of me.
“Maths is my favourite subject.”
Eldiana, who hopes to become a scientist in the future, said this was her second year entering Sunshine College’s Pi competition.
Last year, she listed more than 80 numbers to come in second to a fellow pupil.
Eldiana – who recited Pi to 33.1415926535 for Star – had some valuable advice for other teenagers wanting to follow in her footsteps.
“I would tell them not to be nervous,” she said.
“Just calm down and they can do it.”
Sunshine College Mathematics teacher Yvonne Reilly said she was proud of Eldiana’s achievement.
“It’s actually beyond belief,” Ms Reilly said.
“She’s got a lot of determination.”
Sunshine College was recently recognised by the Maths Association of Victoria for implementing an innovative syllabus which has seen student numeracy rates greatly improve across the past two years.
