Can you "do" Maths?

[Advocate]

Nope. The largest round pizza you can fit on a round plate is a round pizza. No maths required. The same would be true for a square plate, where a square pizza would be the largest you could fit on it. I think it unlikely that she had a square plate.

The most likely scenario is that she had a round plate and a choice of either a square pizza or a round one, and incorrectly calculated that she would get a bigger pizza if she chose a square pizza, ignoring the fact that 27% of it wouldn't fit on the plate. To fit on the plate a square pizza would only be 2/pi times (or 64%) the area of the round one.

I think we're being naive, we need to work out how strong unsupported pizza is so we can take into account overhang.

[TimberWolf]

I think we're being naive, we need to work out how strong unsupported pizza is so we can take into account overhang.

It would still be round though!

Unless the plate were square.

[Advocate]

It would still be round though!

Unless the plate were square.

But would a round pizza overhanging a square plate, or a square pizza overhanging a round plate provide stronger support due to the shape of the crust?

I think I'll eat pizza all weekend!

[bobhope]

just shows the problem of specifications eh? What chance do complex software systems have if we can't even specify a pizza/pie problem.

[TimberWolf]

But would a round pizza overhanging a square plate, or a square pizza overhanging a round plate provide stronger support due to the shape of the crust?

I think I'll eat pizza all weekend!

An oversized round pizza wouldn't sit well on a square plate because the weight wouldn't be evenly distributed and the corners would dig into it with subsequent loss of pizza. Same for square pizza on a round plate, the load would be uneven, so I think you'd get a larger circumscribed pizza circle than an all square pizza. But this is just pie in the sky theory, the experiment should be done.

[Churchill]

An oversized round pizza wouldn't sit well on a square plate because the weight wouldn't be evenly distributed and the corners would dig into it with subsequent loss of pizza. Same for square pizza on a round plate, the load would be uneven, so I think you'd get a larger circumscribed pizza circle than an all square pizza. But this is just pie in the sky theory, the experiment should be done.

But surely that would be the same effect as a large square Pizza on a smaller square plate...

[TimberWolf]

But surely that would be the same effect as a large square Pizza on a smaller square plate...

Wot I said. Though I think an all-circle solution would work better. Not sure about a triangle, they're pretty strong.

[Advocate]

Wot I said. Though I think an all-circle solution would work better. Not sure about a triangle, they're pretty strong.

I'm thinking a square pizza on a round plate, the "almost" triangular shape created by the round edge of the plate and the two sides of crust should be pretty strong?? Whereas on a square plate the corner would dig in (as has already been pointed out).

A CUK pizza outing as a scientific experiment?

[BrilloPad]

I'm thinking a square pizza on a round plate, the "almost" triangular shape created by the round edge of the plate and the two sides of crust should be pretty strong?? Whereas on a square plate the corner would dig in (as has already been pointed out).

A CUK pizza outing as a scientific experiment?

I can see a food fight coming.....

[TimberWolf]

I'm thinking a square pizza on a round plate, the "almost" triangular shape created by the round edge of the plate and the two sides of crust should be pretty strong?? Whereas on a square plate the corner would dig in (as has already been pointed out).

A CUK pizza outing as a scientific experiment?

Yeah, but you also need to take into account that those extra pizza triangles would be quite small, which as we've seen for a fully circumscribed square (where the edges of the square are tangent to the circumference and the four corners overlap it) only gives you an extra 27% pizza. Whereas for a circle, you'd only need to increase the radius of the pizza by 13% to get the same amount of extra pizza. Hence pizza droop would be less. Maybe.