Lesson .

Pixel Puzzler: A 'Pi in the Sky' Math Challenge

Subject

Math

Grade Levels

4-6

Time Required

Under 30 mins

Pixel Puzzler, Pi in the Sky Math Problem – Illustration of NASA's Dawn spacecraft orbiting Ceres

Overview

The "Pi in the Sky" math challenge gives students a chance to take part in recent discoveries and upcoming celestial events, all while using math and pi just like NASA scientists and engineers. In this problem from the set, students use the mathematical constant pi to find out how many images NASA's Dawn spacecraft needed to take to map the entire dwarf planet Ceres.

Materials

Pi in the Sky 2: Pixel Puzzler worksheet – download PDF
Pi in the Sky 2 answer key (second problem) – download PDF

Procedures

The Dawn spacecraft is orbiting Ceres – a nearly spherical dwarf planet with an average radius of 475 kilometers – in a perfectly circular polar orbit. While in orbit, Dawn will snap images of Ceres’ surface to piece together a global map. From its lowest altitude orbit of 370 kilometers, Dawn’s camera can see a patch of Ceres about 26 kilometers on a side. Assuming no overlap in the images, how many photographs did Dawn have to take to fully map the surface of Ceres?