The Tower Project

Rachael Kelenski/Ava Martellaro

Mr. Acre

GAT 9C

26 May 2016
 Kelenski-Martellaro

The Tower Project

A multimillionaire sent out a challenge to high school students to build her a tower.

Seems easy right? The catch is that this tower must be built precisely following her directions.

The multimillionaire wants the tower to be built in a piece of land with a 38x38 feet plot size.

There is one local rule that states that the tower cannot be built within 3 feet of the boundaries of

plot, thus actually making the plot size 32x32 feet. The tower’s base must also be a 20-sided

polygon.

Within these rules, four separate polygons must be plotted within the boundaries, all

being 1 foot apart from each other. These polygons represent the many aspects of the tower. One

tricky aspect that will have to be built is the footing. A 3 feet wide, 3.5 feet deep footing must be

poured out of concrete. The center is hollow, but she wants an aquarium to fill it in! The water in

this aquarium will fill 75% of the hollow area of the footing. On top of this, just about every

dimension in the tower needs to be calculated to find things such as the surface area and volume.

A multimillionaire would never settle for a plain tower either. A theme is also

recommended for this challenge. The millionaire recommends that one theme she wants her

tower to be based on is all her favorite Pixar movies. For example, one major symbol in

Monsters Inc. is its doors, so she wants the door to be Monsters Inc. themed. She is also fond of

other Pixar movies such as ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Finding Nemo’. Themes have students go the extra

mile to impress this quirky millionaire. This does look like an intimidating project, but with the

right mind-set, this millionaire will be one happy lady.

1
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Part Two:

Figure 1. The Base of the Tower

Figure 1 shows the base of the tower within the 32x32 feet plot size. Even though it is a

38x38 feet plot, it was explained in the introduction why the tower must be contained a 32x32

feet plot size. The base is a 20 sided polygon; this polygon maximizes and touches on its edges.

This is similar to an octagon, whose edges also meet the boundary. In Figure 1, all four polygons

are visible. These four 20-gons are going to be the main basis in the tower. The triangle drawn in

will be used in just about every aspect of this project. But before the math is done, measurements

such as angle measures and side measures have to be calculated using trigonometry methods.

Let Ω= Number of Sides

360/Ω=Central Angle Formula for Finding the Central Angle

360/20= Central Angle Substitution Property of Equality

18°= Central Angle Division Property

Central Angle = 18° Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 2 Finding the Central Angle

2
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 2 shows how to find the central angle measurement of a 20-gon. The formula to

finding the central angle is 360/ Ω, where Ω represents the number of sides. Since a 20-gon has

20 sides, the central angle measure would be 360/20. When simplified it is 18°. This central

angle measure is crucial to find the side lengths in the four polygons.

Figure 3. Finding the Adjacent Side Length of Polygon 1

In Figure 3, a drawing of polygon 1 is shown. Side B is 16 feet long. But how is that?

Well, since the polygon is maximized within the 32x32 feet plot, and its edges touch the outside,

an altitude can be dropped down from the midpoint of any of the 20 sides. The altitude equals 32

feet because that’s the maximum value it can be before going outside the plot. The adjacent side

however, is 16 feet because it is half of 32. Side A will be found in a later figure. Side A is

needed to find the area of polygon 1.

3
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 4. Setting up the 20-gon

In order to find all of the 20-gon’s side measures and area, 20 congruent right triangles

need to be drawn in the polygon. The triangle drawn above will be scaled and used to find the

area of all four polygons. It is shown in Figure 3 that for polygon 1, the adjacent side length, or

the height of the 20 triangles is 16 feet. Since its central angle measurement is 18°, the height

would bisect the angle into 9°. With this information, all side lengths can now be found using

right triangle trigonometry. These sides are usually labeled as the opposite, adjacent, and

hypotenuse. Because of the central angle’s location on the polygon, the height of the triangle

represents the adjacent side, the base of the triangle represents the opposite side, and the

hypotenuse of this triangle is the hypotenuse. If the other angle was used to find these sides, the

opposite and adjacent sides would be different. In order to start and find the area of polygon 1,

the opposite side length, which will be o, has to be found. This will also be done to all of the four

polygons.

4
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Let Θ= Angle Measurement

Base= 2(O) Formula to Find the Base of Polygon 1

tan(Θ°)= O/A The Trig. Ratio to Find Either A or O

tan(9°)= O/16 Substitution Property of Equality

16·tan(9°)= O Multiplication Property of Equality

2.53 feet≈ O Multiplication Property

Base= 2(2.53) Substitution Property of Equality

Base≈ 5.07 feet Multiplication Property

Figure 5. Finding the Base of Polygon 1

Figure 5 shows how to find the base of polygon 1. The only things known at first are one

angle measurement and one side length. Without knowing right triangle trigonometry, it would

be common for people to believe it is impossible to find any other side lengths. But the three

right triangle ratios; sine, cosine, and tangent, make it possible. In this case tangent is used to

find the length of the opposite side, which is actually half of the base. The first thing to do is to

plug 9° in for Θ. Then 16 is plugged in for A because that is the length of the adjacent side. After

solving this equation, approximately 2.53 is found as the opposite. When doubled to find the

length of the base, it is around 5.07 feet. Even though it is simplified in Figure 5, when more

math is done later, the actual values will be used to find exact measurements.

5
 Kelenski-Martellaro

20(1/2bh)=Area Formula to Find the Area of the 20-gon

20(1/2·32·tan(9°)·16)=Area Substitution Property of Equality

20(40.55)≈ Area Multiplication Property

810.93≈ Area Multiplication Property

Area≈ 810.93 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 6. Finding the Area of Polygon 1

The table above shows how to find the area of polygon 1. Since there are 20 triangles in a

20-gon, the area of one interior triangle is multiplied by 20. That is done in Figure 6. The area of

a triangle is ½ base·height. The base and height were found in the preceding figures. When that

is plugged in and simplified, the area turns out to be approximately 810.93 feet².

Figure 7. Finding the Adjacent Side in Polygon 2

Figure 7 shows the needed sides in polygon 2. Polygon 2 is the next polygon going in the

tower. The height of polygon 1 is scaled by exactly 1 foot. The adjacent side, or d, is the side

length that is being scaled. So instead of the adjacent side being 16 feet, it is now scaled to 15

feet.

6
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Base= 2(O) Formula to Find the Length of the Base

tan(9°)= O/D The Trig. Ratio to Find Either D or O

tan(9°)= O/15 Substitution Property of Equality

15·tan(9°)= O Multiplication Property of Equality

2.38 feet≈ O Multiplication Property

Base= 2(2.38) Substitution Property of Equality

Base≈ 4.75 feet Multiplication Property

Figure 8. Finding the Base of Polygon 2

The figure above shows how to find the length of the base of polygon 2 using right

triangle trigonometry. The process of finding the base length is the same as the process for

polygon 1. This time although, the adjacent side length is 15 feet, opposed to 16 feet. This time,

15 is substituted in for D. After this, both sides are multiplied by 15 using the multiplication

property of equality. The equation after this equals 15·tan(9°). This comes out to be about 2.38

feet. This is only half of the base although. The base is now multiplied by two to become

approximately 4.75 feet.

7
 Kelenski-Martellaro

20(1/2bh)=Area Formula to Find the Area of the 20-gon

20(1/2·30·tan(9°)·15)=Area Substitution Property of Equality

20(35.64)≈ Area Multiplication Property

712.73≈ Area Multiplication Property

Area≈ 712.73 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 9. Finding the Area of Polygon 2

Figure 9 shows how to find the area of polygon 2. The process of finding the area of

polygon 2 is also similar to finding the area of polygon 1. The base and height is plugged into the

area formula, which is 20(1/2bh). After solving this, the area can be found. The area of polygon

2 is roughly 712.73 feet².

Figure 10. Finding the Adjacent Side of Polygon 3

Figure 10 shows the third polygon down. This polygon has been scaled down a foot from

polygon 2. As shown in Figure 7, the adjacent side, or f, is scaled by 1 foot. This means the

adjacent side for this polygon is 14 feet.

8
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Base= 2(O)

tan(9°)= O/F The Trig. Ratio to Find Either F or O

tan(9°)= O/14 Substitution Property of Equality

14·tan(9°)= O Multiplication Property of Equality

2.22 feet≈ O Multiplication Property

Base= 2(2.22) Substitution Property of Equality

Base≈ 4.43 feet Multiplication Property

Figure 11. Finding the Base of Polygon 3

Figure 11 shows how to find the base of polygon 3. Just like polygons 1 and 2, half of the

opposite side is found using tangent. After plugging in the adjacent side of polygon 3, which is

14 feet, the new opposite can be found. The base of polygon 3 is approximately 4.43 feet.

20(1/2bh)=Area Formula to Find the Area of the 20-gon

20(1/2·28·tan(9°)·14)=Area Substitution Property of Equality

20(31.04)≈ Area Multiplication Property

620.87≈ Area Multiplication Property

Area≈ 620.87 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 12. Finding the Area of Polygon 3

Figure 12 shows how to find the area of polygon 3. The area of polygon 3 is 20(1/2bh).

The base and the height are known so they can be substituted in to find the area of polygon 3.

9
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Once the math has been calculated, the area can be found. The area of polygon 3 is

approximately 620.87 feet².

Figure 13. Finding the Adjacent Side Length of Polygon 4

Figure 13 shows the adjacent side length of polygon 4. This is the final polygon, meaning

it is 3 feet away from polygon 1. This polygon was scaled a foot from polygon 3. The height, or

h, was scaled by a foot to become 13 feet.

Base= 2(O)

tan(9°)= O/A The Trig. Ratio to Find Either A or O

tan(9°)= O/13 Substitution Property of Equality

13·tan(9°)= O Multiplication Property of Equality

2.06 feet≈ O Multiplication Property

Base= 2(2.06) Substitution Property of Equality

Base≈ 4.12 feet Multiplication Property

Figure 14. Finding the Base of Polygon 4

10
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 14 shows how to find the length of the base of polygon 4. Just like the other

polygons, tangent was used to find half the base. It is about 2.06 feet, but in order to find the

length of the base it has to be multiplied by 2. The length of the base of polygon 4 is

approximately 4.12 feet

20(1/2bh)=Area Formula to Find the Area of the 20-gon

20(1/2·26·tan(9°)·13)=Area Substitution Property of Equality

20(26.77)≈ Area Multiplication Property

535.34≈ Area Multiplication Property

Area≈ 535.34 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 15. Finding the Area of Polygon 4

Figure 15 shows how to find the area of polygon 4. The base and height was plugged into

the area of a 20-gon formula. The area of polygon 4 is approximately 535.34 feet².

Part Three:

Figure 16. Finding the Dimensions of the Footing

11
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 16 is a drawing of the footing. The footing is three feet wide and 3.5 feet tall. The

footing extends from polygon 1 to polygon 3. The center is a hollow polygon 4. This means that

the area of the footing is the area of polygon 1 subtracted by the area of polygon 4.

Afooting = Apolygon1 - Apolygon4 Formula to Find the Area of the Footing

810.93-535.34= Afooting Substitution Property of Equality

275.59 ≈ Afooting Subtraction Property

Afooting ≈ 275.59 ft² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 17. Area of the Footing

Figure 17 shows how to find the area of the footing. Figure 7 proves that the area of the

footing is the area of polygon 4 subtracted from the area of polygon 1. When you plug in the

areas into the formula and subtract it comes out to be around 275.59 feet². The area of the footing

is needed to find the volume.

Vfooting = Afooting·h Formula to Find the Volume of the Footing

275.59·3.5= Vfooting Substitution Property of Equality

964.57= Vfooting Multiplication Property

Vfooting ≈ 964.57 feet³ Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 18. Volume of the Footing

Figure 18 shows how to find the volume of the footing. The volume of the footing is the

area of the footing multiplied by the height of the footing. The area of the footing was found in

12
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Table 10. The height is given, it is 3.5 feet. When multiplied, the volume of the footing is found

to be 964.57 feet³.

Vfloor= Apolygon4·h Formula for the Volume of the Floor

535.34·1/3= Vfloor Substitution Property of Equality

178.45 = Vfloor Multiplication Property

Vfloor≈ 178.45 feet³ Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 19. Volume of the Floor

Figure 19 shows how to find the volume of the floor. The area of the floor is the same as

the area of polygon 4. The height of the floor is four inches. But the volume is found in feet, and

four inches is one third of a foot. These numbers are plugged in to find the volume of the floor.

The volume of the floor is approximately 178.45 feet³.

Vaqua= Apolygon4· (.75)(h) Formula to Find the Volume of the Aquarium

535.34·.75(3.5)= Vaqua Substitution Property of Equality

535.34·2.625= Vaqua Multiplication Property

1,405.27= Vaqua Multiplication Property

Vaqua≈ 1,405.27 feet³ Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 20. Volume of the Aquarium

Figure 20 shows how to find the volume of the aquarium. The area of the base is the

same as the area of polygon 4. The height of the aquarium is given to be 75% of the height of the

footing. 75% of 3.5 is 2.625. After this, the volume is found to be approximately 1,405.27 feet³.

13
 Kelenski-Martellaro

C=115y Formula to Find the Cost

y= Vfooting/27 Formula to Find Each Cubic Yard

964.57/27= y Substitution Property of Equality

35.72= y Multiplication Property

y≈ 35.72 Symmetric Property of Equality

115(36)= C Substitution Property of Equality

4140= C Multiplication Property

C≈ $4,140 Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 21. Cost of the Concrete

Figure 21 shows how to find the cost analysis of the concrete needed to install the

footing. The first thing that needs to be done is to convert the cubic feet into cubic yards. Twenty

seven cubic feet is equivalent to one cubic yard so the volume of the footing is divided by twenty

seven. After this, the amount of cubic yards can be put in the cost formula to find the cost to

make the concrete. The cost is approximately $4,140 because y has to be rounded up. Y is

rounded up because it is impossible to buy 35.72 purchases of concrete.

14
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Vsheet= Abase·h Formula to Find the Volume of the Sheet

(4)(8)(1/3)= Vsheet Substitution Property of Equality

10.67= Vsheet Multiplication Property

Vsheet≈ 10.67 feet³ Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 22. Volume of one Sheet

Figure 22 shows how to find the volume of the sheet that will be used to determine the

cost of the Plexiglas. The area of the base is multiplied by the height. The dimensions were

converted to feet. The volume of the sheet is approximately 10.67 feet³.

C= 1100s Formula to Find Cost of the Plexiglas

s= Vfloor/Vsheet Formula to Find the Amount of Sheets

178.45/10.67= s Substitution Property of Equality

16.73= s Division Property

s≈ 17 Symmetric Property of Equality

1100·17= C Substitution Property of Equality

18700= C Multiplication Property of Equality

C≈ $18,700 Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 23. Cost of the Plexiglas

Figure 23 shows how to find the cost of the Plexiglas. The volume of the floor and the

volume of each Plexiglas sheet has been found. The volume of the floor is divided by the volume

15
 Kelenski-Martellaro

of the sheets to find how many sheets can fit in the floor. There are approximately 16.73 sheets

that can fit, but it is not possible to buy fractions of the purchase, so it is rounded up to 17. 17

sheets costs $18,700.

Part Four:

Figure 24. The Base of the Outer Prism

Figure 24 is a drawing of the base of the outer prism. The base of the outer prism is

polygon 2, so the length of one edge will also be the same as the length of polygon 2’s edge. The

length of the edge is 30(tan(9°)) feet. That length is needed to find the height of the prism

because the height of the prism is twice the length of one edge of the outer base.

Houterprism= 2(c) Formula to Find Height of Outer Prism

2(30tan(9°))= Houterprism Substitution Property of Equality

60tan(9°))= Houterprism Multiplication Property

9.5= Houterprism Multiplication Property

Houterprism≈ 9.5 feet Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 25. Height of the Outer Prism

16
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 25 shows how to find the height of the outer prism. The millionaire says the height

is going to be twice the length of the side of the base. Figure 8 shows how to find the precise

length of the base so all that needs to happen is for it to be doubled. When that happens the

actual height turns out to be 60tan(9), or approximately 9.5 feet. This is needed to find the lateral

surface area.

Figure 26. One Lateral Face of the Outer Prism

Figure 26 is a labeled drawing of one lateral face. The height and length of the base has

been found. With these, the area of one lateral face can be found.

Aface= bh Formula to Find the Area of one Lateral Face

30·tan(9°)·60·tan(9°)= Aface Substitution Property of Equality

45.15= Aface Multiplication Property

Aface≈ 45.15 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 27. The Area of One Lateral Face

Figure 27 shows how to find the area of one lateral face. The area formula for any

quadrilateral is base multiplied by the height. Since the base and height were found so all that

17
 Kelenski-Martellaro

needs to be done is to substitute them in and multiply. When that is done the area is found to be

approximately 45.15 feet².

Figure 28. Finding the Dimensions of the Window

Figure 28 shows a labeled drawing of the window. The window is just like the other

polygons used but the altitude is 1.5 feet. That is because the length of the whole 20-gon is three

feet. This will be explained later. The base will also be found later too.

18
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Formula for the Length of the Base

B= 2b
tan(Θ)= b/a The Trig. Ratio to Find Either A or O

tan(9°)= b/1.5 Substitution Property of Equality

1.5tan(9°)=b Multiplication Property of Equality

.24= b Multiplication Property

b≈ .24 feet Symmetric Property of Equality

2(.24)= B Substitution Property of Equality

.48=B Multiplication Property

B≈ .48 Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 29. Finding the Base of the Window

Figure 29 shows how to find the base of the window. The adjacent side length was found

to be 1.5 feet. This can be put in the trigonometric ratio of tangent. Once the math is done for

this the length of half the base is about .24 feet, the actual base is approximately .48 feet.

Awindow= 20(1/2bh) Formula to Find the Area of the Window

20(1/2(3tan(9°))(1.5))= Awindow Substitution Property of Equality

20(.36)= Awindow Multiplication Property

7.13= Awindow Multiplication Property

Awindow≈ 7.13 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 30. Finding the Area of the Window

19
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 30 shows how to find the area of the window. The formula to find the area of a 20-

gon is 20(1/2bh). The base and the height were previously found. When they are substituted in

and multiplied the area turns out to be approximately 7.13 feet².

Figure 31. The Door

Figure 31 is a sketch of the door. It is given that the door is three feet wide and five feet

tall. The top of the door has the same dimensions as the window that was all found in the last few

figures. The area of the top part of the door is half the area of the window, which has already

been found.

Adoor= Atop + Abottom Formula for Finding the Area of the Door

10(1/2(3tan(9°))(1.5))+ 3(5)= Adoor Substitution Property of Equality

10(.36)+ 15= Adoor Multiplication Property

3.56+ 15=Adoor Multiplication Property

18.56= Adoor Addition Property

Adoor≈ 18.56 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 31. The Area of the Door

20
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 31 shows how to find the area of the door. The area of the door is the area of the

top part plus the area of the bottom part. The bottom part is given to us as a 3x5 feet rectangle.

The area of that is 15 feet². The area of the top part however, is half the area of the window. The

area of the top part is 10(½(3tan(9°))(1.5)). When multiplied, this turns out to be approximately

3.56. This is added to the 15 to become 18.56 feet².

LSA= 20(Aface)-Adoor-Awindow Formula to Find the LSA of the Outer Prism

20(30·tan(9°)·60·tan(9°)-10(1/2(3·tan(9°))(1.5)+15-20(1/2(3·tan(9°))(1.5)= LSA Substitution Property of Equality

903.08-18.56-7.13= LSA Multiplication Property

877.39= LSA Subtraction Property

LSA ≈ 877.39 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 32. Finding the Lateral Surface Area of the Outer Prism

Figure 32 shows how to find the lateral surface area of the outer prism. The lateral

surface area is 20 times the area of one lateral face minus the area of both the door and window.

All these things have been found so they can be substituted in to find the lateral surface area. The

lateral surface area is approximately 877.39 feet².

21
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Part Five:

Figure 33. The Base of the Inner Prism

Figure 33 shows the base of the inner prism and one side length. The base of the inner

prism is polygon 3. This is because the wall is one foot thick and is from polygon 2. The length

of one edge was found to be 28·tan(9°) feet, or approximately 2.22 feet.

Figure 34. Dimensions of One Lateral Face of the Inner Prism

In order to find the volume of the inner prism, its height is needed to be found. Luckily,

the height of the inner prism is the same as the height of the outer prism, which has already been

found. The height of the inner prism is 60·tan(9°), or approximately 9.5 feet. With the height, the

volume of the inner prism can be found.

22
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Vinnerprism=Abase·h Formula to Find the Volume of the Inner Prism

620.87· 60·tan(9°)= Vinnerprism Substitution Property of Equality

5900.17= Vinnerprism Multiplication Property

Vinnerprism≈ 5900.17 feet³ Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 35. Finding the Volume of the Inner Prism

The figure above shows how to find the volume of the inner prism. The volume of the

inner prism is the area of the base times the height. Both of those measurements have been found

in previous figures. All that has to be done is the multiplication. The volume of the inner prism is

approximately 5900.17 feet³.

Part Six:

Figure 36. The Outer Pyramid

Figure 36 is a drawing of the outer pyramid. The slant height is needed to find the lateral

surface area of the outer pyramid. Before the slant height is found, the height of the pyramid, h,

and the angle between the lateral face and the prism base, Θ, needs to be found. It is given that

the height of the pyramid is three times the length of the base. The base is polygon two, and the

23
 Kelenski-Martellaro

base length has already been found. The length of the base of polygon two is 30·tan(9°) feet.

Since the height is three times as big as the length, the height of the outer pyramid is 90·tan(9°)

feet, or approximately 14.25 feet.

tan(Θ)=h/b Trigonometric Ratio to Find Θ

90·tan(9°)/15)=tan(Θ) Substitution Property of Equality

tan-1(90·tan(9°)/15)=Θ Multiplication Property of Equality

43.54= Θ Multiplication Property

Θ≈ 43.54° Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 37. Finding Θ

Figure 37 shows how to find Θ. With right triangles, when two side lengths are known,

all angles can be found using trigonometric ratios. In this case, tangent is being used to find Θ.

The base and the height were already found so all that has to be found is Θ. After everything is

substituted in, the inverse of tangent has to be applied to both sides. After this the angle

measurement is found to be approximately 43.54°.

24
 Kelenski-Martellaro

cos(Θ)= b/l Function to Find the Slant Height

15/l=cos(tan-1(90·tan(9°)/15)°) Substitution Property of Equality

15= l· cos(tan-1(90·tan(9°)/15)°) Multiplication Property of Equality

15/cos(tan-1(90·tan(9°)/15)°)= l Division Property of Equality

20.69= l Multiplication Property

l≈ 20.69 feet Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 38. Finding the Slant Height

Now, that all the dimensions have been found, the slant height can be solved. Cosine is

cos(Θ)= a/h where a is the adjacent side length and h is the hypotenuse. Since 90·tan(9)/15 is the

angle measurement and 15 is the adjacent side length, they are substituted in to find the

hypotenuse. The multiplication property of equality is then used to isolate h. The hypotenuse is

approximately 20.69 feet.

Part Seven:

Figure 39. The Outer Pyramid Labeled

25
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 39 is a drawing of the outer pyramid. The slant height and the base length has

been previously found. But what about angles a and b? These will be found in the following

figures.

tan(a)= o/l Formula to Find Angle A

tan(a)=15·tan(9°)/15/sin(tan-1(15/90·tan(9°)°)) Substitution Property of Equality

a=tan-1(15·tan(9°)/15/sin(tan-1(15/90·tan(9°)°))) Multiplication Property of Equality

a= 6.55° Multiplication Property

6.55°≈ a Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 40. Finding the Measure of Angle A

Figure 40 shows how to find the angle measurement of angle a. When half the base of the

outer pyramid is o, and the slant height is l, it can be substituted in the trigonometric function

tangent. The precise dimensions are used to find the angle measurement, and the inverse of

tangent is applied to the ratio of o/l. The angle measurement is approximately 6.55°.

tan(b)= o/l Formula to Find Angle A

tan(b)=15/sin(tan-1(15/90·tan(9 24°)/15·tan(9°)°) Substitution Property of Equality

b=tan-1(15/sin(tan-1(15/90·tan(9°)/15·tan(9°)°)) Multiplication Property of Equality

b= 83.45° Multiplication Property

83.45°= b Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 41. Finding Angle B

26
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 41 shows how to find the angle measure of angle b. The same process to find a is

used to find b, but in a different way. Since angles a and b are in two different locations, the

opposite and adjacent sides will be different. In angle a, the length of half the base is the opposite

side, and the slant height is the adjacent side. For angle b, it is the other way around. When the

inverse of tangent is applied to the slant height over half the base, the angle measure of b is

found to be approximately 83.45°.

A= 1/2bh Formula to Find the Area of a Triangle

1/2 30·tan(9°) 15/(sin(tan-1(15/90·tan(9°)°)= A Substitution Property of Equality

49.16= A Multiplication Property

A= 49.16 feet² Symmetric Property

Figure 42. Area of One Lateral Face

The figure above shows how to find the area of one lateral face of the outer pyramid. The

area of one lateral face is ½bh. The base and height has been found in previous parts. After

substituting these in, the area is found to be approximately 49.16 feet².

LSA= 20(Alateralface) Formula to Find the Lateral Surface Area

20(1/2 30(9) 15/(sin(tan-1(15/90·tan(9°)°)= LSA Substitution Property of Equality

983.23= LSA Multiplication Property

LSA= 983.23 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 43. Lateral Surface Area of the Outer Pyramid

Figure 43 shows how to find the lateral surface area of the outer pyramid. The lateral

surface area of the outer pyramid is 20 times the area of one lateral face. The area of one lateral

27
 Kelenski-Martellaro

face was solved in Figure 42. When multiplied by 20, the lateral surface area was found to be

983.23 feet².

Part Eight:

Figure 44. Finding the Height of the Inner Pyramid

It is given that the height of the inner pyramid is three times the length of one side of its

base. The base of the inner pyramid is polygon 3. To find the height, the length of the base is

multiplied by three. The height of the inner prism will open the pathway to find the volume of

the inner pyramid.

h= 3(basepolygon3) Formula to Find the Height of the Inner Pyramid

3(28·tan(9°))= h Substitution Property of Equality

84·tan(9°)= h Multiplication Property

13.3 = h Multiplication Property

h≈ 13.3 feet Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 45. The Height of the Inner Pyramid

28
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 45 shows how to find the height of the inner pyramid. In Figure 44, it was said

that the height of the inner pyramid is three times the length of the base of polygon 3. When the

length of polygon 3 is multiplied by three, it turns out to be 84·tan(9), or approximately 13.3

feet.

Vinnerpyramid= 1/3(Abaseprism)(h) Formula to Find the Volume of the Inner Pyramid

1/3(620.87)(84·tan(9°))= Vinnerpyramid Substitution Property of Equality

2753.13= Vinnerpyramid Multiplication Property

Vinnerpyramid≈ 2753.13 feet³ Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 46. Volume of the Inner Pyramid

Figure 46 shows how to find the volume of the inner pyramid. The volume of the inner

pyramid is ⅓(Abaseprism)(h). The area of the base prism is the area of polygon 3. The height was

found in Figure 45. When multiplied out, the volume of the inner pyramid is found to be

approximately 2753.13 feet³.

Part Nine:

Figure 47. Sketch of the Tower

29
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Figure 47 is a sketch of the tower. In this sketch, the four polygons are fitted inside the

32x32 feet plot size. The footer is also visible under the plot. The tower is sketched to scale as

well.

LSA= LSAprism + LSApyramid Formula to Find the Lateral Surface Area

877.39 + 983.23= LSA Substitution Property of Equality

1860.62= LSA Addition Property

LSA≈ 1860.62 feet² Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 48. Lateral Surface Area of the Outer Tower

Figure 48 shows how to find the lateral surface area of the outer tower. The lateral

surface area of the prism and pyramid of the tower has been found in previous parts. Next, those

things need to be added together.. After adding these numbers together, the lateral surface area of

the tower is found to be approximately 1860.62 feet².

Vinnertower= Vprism + Vpyramid Formula to Find the Volume of the Inner Tower

5900.17 + 2753.13 = Vinnertower Substitution Property of Equality

8653.5= Vinnertower Addition Property

Vinnertower≈ 8653.5 feet³ Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 49. Volume of the Inner Tower

Figure 49 shows how to find the volume of the inner tower. The volumes of the inner

prism and volume has been found in previous parts. Similar to Figure 48, these two numbers just

need to be added up in order to get the volume of the inner tower. After they are added together,

the volume is solved to be 8653.5 feet³.

30
 Kelenski-Martellaro

Conclusion

Nice try Ms. Millionaire, not many issues were encountered during this challenge. The

only problems that occurred were because of slight confusions. For example, when finding the

volume of the inner prism, originally, the height of three times one edge of polygon 3 was used,

not polygon 2. To the builders, the tower project was a fun review to refresh their minds. The

reason for the success of the project is because of the precise numbers used to calculate the

measurements. Just like in the real world, approximations will not be accepted. The math used in

this project did take some time to solve, but all in all wasn’t that challenging. It was exciting to

accept the challenge from the wonderful millionaire and it would be delightful to see what else

she has to offer. For right now though, she will have to settle with her Pixar themed tower.

31
Kelenski-Martellaro

32