Heaney-Pisarski 1

Part One: Introduction:

A millionaire has consulted with advisors viewing the circumstances and cost, deciding
she would like to invest in a unique structure built just for her. After countless hours of previous
planning the design has been set. Before the tower can be built proper measurements and
calculations must be done to ensure accuracy.
This millionaire was taught young at the age of 12 that math is everywhere and loves all
shapes! she insists the tower have 12 sides in honor of her geometry teacher that taught her
indeed math is everywhere. She made sure her plot of land was a perfect square, buying 36x36
feet. Her love for math is almost as great as her love for the beach, explaining why she purchased
the plot on the shores of Bora Bora. Since she has purchased a plot so close to the public beach
there are restrictions limiting her options.
She is not allowed to build within 3 feet of the 36x36 plot boundaries. To maximize the
base surface a vertex will touch the lines. Her love for the beach could have something to do
with her love for underwater creatures. Swimmers usually scare them away so she would love to
have a fish tank. the catch is she must be able to walk on top of it, so she feels she is one with
the water. 75% of the tank will be water, 25% air. above the tank will be a 4 inch Plexiglas floor.
The base of the tower must be a 12 sided polygon, each corresponding polygon 1 foot from the
last. finally there must be a door and two windows, and a roof line of the polygon.

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Part Two: 14 Sided Polygon Maximized on Plot

Figure 1. Base of Tower

Figure 1 shows the base of the tower and the surrounding plot of land. AB is 36 ft; this is
the size of the plot. CD is 30 ft, this is the inner plot.

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The inner plot must be AT LEAST three feet from the outer plot of land according to the
restrictions of building directly on the beach. The builder also requests that the plot purchased
must be maximized. meaning a vertex of the prism must be touching the inner plot line.
The base is made up of four corresponding polygons. each polygon is descending one
foot towards the center. the one foot is subtracted from the apothem. it cannot be subtracted from
the radius because not all points on the polygon would be equal. by subtracting one from the
apothem, it takes in one from all points. the purple polygon is the biggest outermost polygon and
is referred to as polygon 1 the next polygon, yellow, will be referred to as polygon 2. the
blue polygon will be referred to as polygon 3. the smallest innermost polygon is all white and
will be referred to as polygon 4. each polygon encompasses the net innermost polygons. for
example, polygon 1 contains polygons 2-4. the homeowner needs to know the surface area of the
four polygons to order supplies. the following figures are used to show the footings and
inner/outer walls.

Figure 2. Polygon 1 with Enlarged Triangle

Figure 2 shows polygon 1 with a section of it enlarged. this section is 1/12 of polygon 1.
the first step in finding the area of the polygon is finding the central angle of a single triangle.

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Central angle = 360 / n
(n = number of sides on the polygon)
Central angle = 360 / 12
Central angle = 30 degrees
In figure 2 angle 2 is the central angle which is 30 degrees. x can be found by splitting the
triangle in two by the apothem. The apothem is the height of the triangle or AD. this affects the
central angle; it must be cut in half.
30 / 2
= 15 degrees.
Angle 1 is equal to 15 degrees.
the height of triangle, AD, is half of the inner plot size. this is because the polygon is
maximized. with the inner plot size being 30 feet, half of that is 15, making AD = 15 feet
This is all that is needed to find the missing side lengths and angle measures. there are
multiple ways at finding these values.
tan 15 = x / 15
tan is used because the angle measure (15) and the height (adjacent; 15) are known.
tangent is equal to the opposite over adjacent. the opposite is not known represented by x. to
solve find the tan of 15 then multiply by 15 to cancel out the division.
x = 4.01924
this can be multiplied by 2 to find the entire length of side BC
4.01924 x 2
= 8.03848
BC = 8.04 feet.

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everything is now known to find area of one triangle. plugging in base BC and height AD
into the area of a triangle formula the area of the triangle can be found.
A= x b x h
A= x 8.03848 x 15
A approx. 60.2886
Area of triangle ABC = 60.2886
this is only the area of one triangle. 12 triangles make up the polygon. multiply this by 12
to find the surface area of polygon 1.
(15(tan (15)) x 15 x 12
= 723.463
rounded to the hundredths, the area of polygon 1 = 723.46 ft.

Figure 3. Polygon 2 with Enlarged Triangle

The central angle in figure 3, (angle 2) is the same as in polygon 1, 30 degrees. the
central angle doesn't change as the apothem does. the formula for the central angle only needs
the number of sides (n). as long as the number of sides doesn't change, the polygon can be
whatever size. the same way is used to find the area in polygon 1 as in remaining 2-4. therefore
the reasoning behind what to do is the same.

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angle 2 is equal to 15 degrees. the height of the triangle is half the plot size. the inner plot
size decreases by two every polygon because the apothem goes in by one. from polygon 1 the
apothem is 15. subtract 1 and get polygon 2 apothem which is 14. AD = 14 ft
to find x
tan 15 = x / 14
to solve find the tangent of 15 then multiply by 14.
= 3.75129
this can be multiplied by 2 to find the whole length of BC
3.75129 x 2
= 7.50258
BC = 7.5 ft
everything is now known to find the area of the triangle.
A= b x h
A= x 7.50258 x 14
= 52.518
multiply by 12 since this is only one of the 12 triangles inside the polygon
52.518 x 12
= 630.217
rounded to the hundredths, the area of polygon 2 is 630.22 ft .

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Figure 4. Polygon 3 with Enlarged Triangle

the central angle in figure 4 (angle 2) is the same as in polygon 1-2, 30 degrees
(angle 1) is also the same, 15 degrees. the apothem in polygon 3 is 13. again just subtracting 1
from the previous polygon.
AD = 13 ft.
to find x
tan 15 = x / 13
to solve first find the tangent of 15 then multiply by 13.
= 3.48334
this can be multiplied by 2 to find the whole length of BC
= 6.96668
BC = 6.97 ft.
everything is now known to find the area of the triangle.
A= b x h
A= x 6.96668 x 13
= 45.2834

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multiply by 12 since this is only one of the 12 triangles inside the polygon
45.2834 x 12
= 543.401
rounded to the hundredths, the area of polygon 3 is 543.40 ft

Figure 5. Polygon 4 with Enlarged Triangle

the central angle in figure 5 (angle 2) is the same as in polygon 1-3, 30 degrees
(angle 1) is also the same, 15 degrees. the apothem in polygon 4 is 12. again just subtracting 1
from the previous polygon.
AD = 12 ft.
to find x
tan 15 = x / 12
to solve first find the tangent of 15 then multiply by 12.
= 3.21539
this can be multiplied by 2 to find the whole length of BC
= 6.43078
BC = 6.43 ft.

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everything is now known to find the area of the triangle.
A= b x h
A= x 6.43078 x 12
= 38.5847
multiply by 12 since this is only one of the 12 triangles inside the polygon
38.5847 x 12
= 463.016
rounded to the hundredths, the area of polygon 4 is 463.02 ft .

Part Three: Volume of the Concrete needed for the Footing, the Plexiglas needed for the
floor, and the water needed for the aquarium.

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figure 6. Footing of the Tower

B. Volume of the footing:
Polygon 1
(A base)*(height of prism)
(723.46)(3.5)
= 2532.12 ft
Polygon 4
(A base)*(height of prism)
(463.02)(3.5)
= 1620.56 ft
Polygon 1-Polygon 4= the amount of footing (concrete needed)
2532.12-1620.56= 911.56 ft

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Since the cost is in cubic yards, the cubic feet have to be converted into cubic yards.
Since a cubic yard is 3x3x3 it is equal to 27 feet, a cubic foot is only he to 1. The footing volume
is equal to 911.56ft^3, this must be divided by 27 to convert into cubic yards.
911.56/27
=33.76148
33.76 ft
Each concrete bag is sold for $115. Since bags are only sold whole, the volume of the footing
(33.76148) must be multiplied by $115.
33.76148*115= $3882.57

Figure 7. Aquarium with Fish

463.02*3.5= 1620.46 ft3
Volume of hollow space (aquarium): 1620.56 ft
Volume of the water in the aquarium if only 75% is full:
1620.56 *.75
= 1215.42ft

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1 cubic = 7.48052 gallons
1215.42*7.48052= 9091.97 gallons
The volume is 1215.42ft or 9091.97 gallons.

Figure 8. Plexiglas Floor

Volume of floor:
The area of polygon 4 is 463.02 ft
The height of the Plexiglas floor is 4 inches or of a foot. The Plexiglas is sold in the same
thickness as the floor to be made in. The Plexiglas floor converted to feet is 4x8 and the area is
32 ft. This can be divided from the surface area of polygon 4.
463.02/32
= 14.469375
Plexiglas is only sold in full sheets so 14.469375 will have to be rounded up to 15 sheets.
Cost analysis:15 sheets of plexiglas will be multiplied by $1100 which is the cost per sheet.
15x1100= $16500

Part Four: One Lateral Face of the Outer Prism Base

Heaney-Pisarski 13
The height of the inner and outer prisms are twice the side of one side of the outer base.
One side of the outer base (polygon 2) is 7.50258 ft
side of outside base x 2
7.50258 x 2
= 15.0052

Figure 9. Polygon 2 with One Wall of Outer Prism

One side of the outer base and height of the prism will be 15 feet tall, and the width of the wall
will be 7.5 feet.

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Figure 10. Tower Door

The door must be 5ft by 3 ft, the top of the door must be half of the base scaled down to
be flush with the door. The door also must be centered with the wall.
By subtracting the width of the door from the wall the door can be centered. this will give
the space if the door was against the edge. both edges/sides of the door must be equal, making
the door perfectly centered, divide this number by two to find the distance on each side of the
dor.
7.50258 - 3
= 4.50258
4.50258 / 2
2.25129
the distance on each side of the three foot wide door will be 2.25 feet
the next measurement is the half polygon on the top of door.

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Figure 11. Triangle of Half Polygon Door

The polygon will be maximized by having its sides touch the edges of the door. the
central angle stay the same as all the other cases from before because the number of sides hasn't
changed. Angle 2 = 30 degrees and angle 1 = 15 degrees. the apothem AD is half the length of
the polygon. since the polygon is maximized from side to side, this is half the width of the door,
1.5 feet. AD = 1.5 feet. this is all that is needed to find the rest of the measurements of the
triangle.
cos 15 = 1.5 / y
= 1.55291
AB 1.55291 ft
sin 15 = x / 1.55291
.401924
BD .401924 ft
.401924 x 2

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.803848
BC 803848 ft
the base BC .803848 ft and the height is 1.5 ft. everything is known to find the area of the
triangle.
A= B x H
A= x .803848 x 1.5
A= . 602886
A= .602886 x 12
A= 7.23463
the area of one triangle is .60 ft . this has to be multiplied by 12 to find the area of the entire
polygon. that came out to be 7.23 ft .
however the polygon on top of the door is only half the polygon
7.23463 / 2
= 3.61731
the area of the polygon on top of the door is approx 3.61 ft .

Figure 12. Door and Window Measurements

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figure 15 shows the door with all the measurements filled in. The area of the door can be
found now. the area of the rectangle 5x3, the area of the polygon is 3.61 ft. These can be added
together to find the area of the door which is approx 18.62 ft .
figure __ also shows the window, which is the same size as half the polygon on the door but it is
the full polygon this time. This was found to be 7.23 ft .
the lateral surface area of the outer prism is the next part to be found. the area of one face of the
polygon can be found by multiplying the length times the width.
A= 15.0052 x 7.50258
= 112.557
the area of one face of the outer prism is 112.56 ft .
everything is now known to find the lateral surface area of the outer prism. This can be done by
subtracting the area of the door and the two windows from the area of the 12 sides.
112.557 x 12 = 1350.93
1350.93 - 18.61731 - 7.23463 - 7.23463 = 1317.84
the lateral surface area of the outer prism is 1317.84 ft .

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Part Five: Volume of the Inner Base Prism

Figure 13. Polygon 3, Location of Inner Prism

Figure 14. One Lateral Face of Inner Prism

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One of the sides of polygon 3 is equals to 6.96668 ft. By doing 13*tan(15)*2.
To find the height of the lateral face you must multiply the side length by 2 to get 13.9334 ft.
Volume of Inner Prism:
V= (A base)*(height of prism)
V= (543.40)(15.002)
V= 8152.09 ft

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Part Six: Pyramid Top of the Outer Pyramid showing the Height of the Outer Pyramid and
the Slant Height of One Lateral Face of the Outer Pyramid

Figure 15. Height and Slant Height of Outer Pyramid

To find the height of the pyramid, the side length of polygon 2 must be multiplied by 3. The side
length of polygon 2 is 14*tan(15)*2 which is equal to 7.50258.
7.50258*3
= 22.5077 which is the height.
The pythagorean theorem can be used to solve for the slant height. Plug in 14 for a, 22.5077 for b
and set it up to equal c which is the hypotenuse or slant height.
14^2+22.5077^2=c
c= 702.597

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c=26.5065 which is the slant height
To find the angle measure between the prism base and pyramid face you would use tan^-1=
opp./adj.
tan^-1()=22.5077/14
tan^-1= 58.118 degrees
tan^-1 58 degrees
Part Seven: One Lateral Face of the Outer Pyramid
A. Drawing of lateral face with measurements labeled

Figure 16.
To find the measure of you must use tan^-1()=(26.50656/7.50258)= 81.9448(degrees)
approx 82 degrees
Both of the bottom angles are equals to 82 degrees

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To find the top angle measure you must use tan^-1(B)= opp./adj.
tan^-1(B)= 3.75129/26/5065
=8.0552
approx. 8(degrees) *2 = 16 (degrees)
Area of the Lateral Face
A= base * height
A= 7.50258 * 26.5065
A= 99.4336
A approx equals 99.43 ft
How to find Lateral Surface Area of outer pyramid:
LSA= (Area of lateral face)*(how many faces)
LSA= (99.4336)(120
LSA= 1193.20 ft
Part Eight: Pyramid Top of the Inner Pyramid showing the Height of the Inner Pyramid

Figure 17. Inner Pyramid Showing Height

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To find the height of the inner pyramid, multiply the side length of polygon 3 by three.
The side length of polygon 3 is 13*tan(15)*2 which equals 6.96668. Next you multiply 6.96668
times 3 to get the height of the inner pyramid which is 20.9 ft.
Volume of Inner Pyramid:
V= (A base)*(Height of Pyramid)
V= (543.40)(20.9)
V= 3785.69 ft.

Part Nine: My Tower

Figure 18. Outer Tower

Figure 18 shows the outer tower. the dashed lines represent all sides of the tower that cannot be
seen from the front angle.
Lateral Surface Area of Outer Tower:

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The lateral surface area of the outer prism is the lateral surface area of the outer prism plus the
lateral surface area of the outer pyramid. The lateral surface area of the prism is equal to 1317.84
ft , the lateral surface area of the outer pyramid is 1193.2 ft .
Total lateral surface area:
1317.84+1193.2
= 2511.04 ft .
Volume of the Inner Tower:
The volume of the inner prism was 8152.09 ft.. the volume of the inner pyramid was 3785.69
ft.. When added together, the total volume of the tower equals 11937.8ft.
Part 10: Conclusion
In conclusion, the final surface areas and volumes for the tower are as follows,

Cost of Plexiglas: $16,500

Volume of Aquarium: 1215.42ft or 9091.97 gallons.

Lateral Surface Area of the Outer Tower:2511.04 ft.

Volume of the Tower: 11357.1 ft.

There were were a few problems that occurred during the tower process. Most of the problems
occurred during the actual building of the model. The first problem came up before any cuts were
made. We tried printing straight from geometer's sketchpad, the scaled version of the polygons so
we could build directly on them. The first problem was we were in preview mode, since neither
of us have sketchpad at home. In preview mode the print option is not available. We decided to
troubleshoot and find the best possible way to make this work. Taking screenshots of all aspects
of the image was done. Then we cropped the image down into fourths, rescaled, and printed in 4
different sheets all on word. This ended up working quite well after cutting the margins and

Heaney-Pisarski 25
fitting them together. The other problem was a result of poor planning. We constructed the walls
before the footing and aquarium. This made everything a little more difficult. We made sure the
walls were sturdy enough for us to flip it upside down and work on the footings like that. Even
though everything worked out fine it was a big inconvenience. We had to think outside of the
box as far as the Plexiglass. After many failing ideas we decided to take a gallon sized bag and
cut it down the side, using the clear plastic as the glass.
Aside from the problems with creating the tower it wasn't too bad. We were expecting the
math for the paper to be more difficult than it was. When Mr. Acre mentioned that the project
incorporates a lot of what we have learned he really did mean it. Today the millionaire was very
pleased with her beachfront tower and hopes to pursue her dreams of making a whole beachfront
series of towers.