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Maybe the easiest is to draw a 1/4 circle onto graph paper with a compass and then take readings along the top edge where each plank would start/end and double the distances.
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Equation of a circle centred on the origin is x^2 + y^2 = r^2.
You're looking for the values of 2y as x takes the values W/2, W+W/2, 2W+W/2,... right?NB. I assumed you wanted the corners of the first (longest) plank touching the circle, rather than the midline touching the circle and the corners sticking out a bit. If that's wrong just use x=0 for the first plank, x=W for the second, etc.
Clockwise
useless
@moocher
If I want to approximate a circle of a given diameter (D) using planks of a known width (W), then I can work out how many planks I will need (D/W), but is there a way of calculating the length of each plank? The middle plank length equals D, but how much does each subsequent plank reduce by?
only showing half the planks for brevity
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