# What is the best way to get "pi" in your answer when leaving it exact?

**URL:** <https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183>\
**Category:** Questions\
**Created:** [April 27, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183 "2021-04-27T12:13:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kellen\_Wesson](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/cl.desmos.com/kellen_wesson/32/2648_2.png) [@Kellen\_Wesson](https://cl.desmos.com/u/Kellen_Wesson)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183/1 "2021-04-27T12:13:54Z")

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I can use a suffix but I would rather the students use “pi” to get the pi symbol

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**Author:** ![SteinSchreiber](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/cl.desmos.com/steinschreiber/32/2267_2.png) [@SteinSchreiber](https://cl.desmos.com/u/SteinSchreiber)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183/2 "2021-04-27T16:16:32Z")

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You could try initialLatex: `\pi` for math input or initialCellContent(row, column ): `\pi` for a table. The student can still erase it, but it gives them something to start with and you wouldn’t need to make the correction for the missing pi like you would with suffix. (Note the \pi should have the little slashes around it normally the key next to 1.)

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**Author:** ![Kellen\_Wesson](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/cl.desmos.com/kellen_wesson/32/2648_2.png) [@Kellen\_Wesson](https://cl.desmos.com/u/Kellen_Wesson)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183/3 "2021-04-27T16:45:26Z")

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Thank you! I am new or an lot of this so I will try it and then send tou what i have.

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**Author:** ![Daniel\_Grubbs](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/cl.desmos.com/daniel_grubbs/32/719_2.png) [@Daniel\_Grubbs](https://cl.desmos.com/u/Daniel_Grubbs)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183/4 "2021-04-27T17:09:40Z")

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> [@SteinSchreiber](#):
>
> You could try initialLatex: `\pi` for math input or initialCellContent(row, column ): `\pi` for a table.

There should be backticks like this:

```auto
initialLatex: `\pi`

```

@SteinSchreiber , when posting code in the forum if you surround using triple backticks it will preserve the backticks you intended in your post (you can do them inline as well):

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/desmos/original/2X/5/5f4ceb4a540c77ff52e205bf47c26c2716fc6d26.png)

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**Author:** ![Kellen\_Wesson](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/cl.desmos.com/kellen_wesson/32/2648_2.png) [@Kellen\_Wesson](https://cl.desmos.com/u/Kellen_Wesson)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183/5 "2021-04-27T17:23:52Z")

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![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/desmos/original/2X/9/9483dce7afd6095ce33e6a5cb1b9c69fad0f7739.png)

![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/desmos/original/2X/b/bec4cad91bb4010bad50056d665cc9c78edac36d.png)

If I do that - how do I get the exact answer as a “correct” answer?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kellen\_Wesson](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/cl.desmos.com/kellen_wesson/32/2648_2.png) [@Kellen\_Wesson](https://cl.desmos.com/u/Kellen_Wesson)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183/6 "2021-04-27T17:24:48Z")

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If there a faster way to create an equation that IF a number if typed in to column 1 and column 2, that the answer checks from the formula?

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**Author:** ![Aethir](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/cl.desmos.com/aethir/32/2767_2.png) [@Aethir](https://cl.desmos.com/u/Aethir)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183/8 "2021-04-28T02:45:45Z")

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I think you want to check the cellNumericValue against a numeric value, like

`this.cellNumericVaule(5,2) = numericValue("1.6*\pi")`

The backend must deal with pi in exact terms, I’m guessing? I tested this out with a simple mathInput:

`feedback = when input.numericValue = numericValue("18*\pi") "Yes" otherwise "No"`

It returned Yes when I type in 18pi

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**Author:** ![Aethir](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/cl.desmos.com/aethir/32/2767_2.png) [@Aethir](https://cl.desmos.com/u/Aethir)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 2:56am UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183/9 "2021-04-28T02:56:30Z")

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As an aside, you should be able to turn your label column into text by clicking the down arrow on top of the column and selecting “format as text”.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kellen\_Wesson](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/cl.desmos.com/kellen_wesson/32/2648_2.png) [@Kellen\_Wesson](https://cl.desmos.com/u/Kellen_Wesson)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 11:37am UTC](https://cl.desmos.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-pi-in-your-answer-when-leaving-it-exact/3183/10 "2021-04-28T11:37:58Z")

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I really appreciate it, thank you.