Making a "Great Pyramid " Scale Model

Dr N K Srinivasan

Introduction

The great pyramid of Giza is one of the most famous

pyramids of Egypt. It was built by King Khufu,also

called King Cheops by Greeks.It was around 2600 BC the

pyramid was completed.It took ,perhaps, 40 years to

build the pyramid; Nearly 40,000 workers were involved.

Some say that they worked in shifts of 10,000 workers

at a time.

This pyramid is built to certain exact dimensions which

we employ for the scale model you will build.

The Egyptians used a measure of length called "CUBIT".

We don't use it any more.

The great pyramid has a square base of 440 cubits and a

height of 280 cubits. May be, easy for them to

remember!

1 cubit = 52.36 centimeter or 0.52 metre.= 20.16

inches.

[One cubit is roughly equal to half a meter.]

The basic dimensions of the great pyramid are:

base

= 230.4 metre,

slant length

= 186.4 metre

height

= 148.2 metre

The height is a bit of variation: The original height

was 148.2 metre, but the top was flattened later

,giving a height of 137 meters.

Don't worry much if different authors give slightly

different heights.

Scale Model dimensions

We will build a small scale model of this pyramid.

For convenience, we take a base of 15 cm length or 6

inches.

Then the height becomes : H = 9.65 cm

The slant length = L = 12.1 cm

The length of the edge S = 14.3 cm

Now we can proceed to cut the pieces required for

building the model of the pyramid.

Materials required:

First let us collect the following materials and tools

for this project.!

1 Cardboard ; this could be thin cardboard from a

cereal box or thicker ones from the covers of a note

book or regular cardboard sheet.

You would need 3 pieces of roughly 20 cm by 30 cm or 8

in x 12 in.

2 Scissors

3 A rule and a compass or set square [from your

Geometry box]

4 White glue

5 Adhesive "scotch" tape or sealing tape

6 Kid's paint [ poster or acrylic]

7 Play sand [color of your choice]

Procedure

Step 1: Take a white sheet and draw a square of length

15 cm; transfer this drawing to the cardboard sheet and

cut a square of 15 cm side with the scissors.

Cut slowly in small cuts each time ["in small bite " ]

so that you can get sharp, close cut to the

dimensions.

Step 2: This is an important step. Do it carefully.

You have to draw a isosceles triangle ABC, with the

sides:

Base BC= 15 cm, AB = AC = 14.3 cm

[Since the two sides AB and AC are equal, we call it

isosceles triangle.]

Tips to draw this triangle:

Method 1 : Draw a line of 15 cm length. This is

the base BC. Find the midpoint P of BC.

Draw a perpendicular to BC at this point P.You will use

a set square for this; Call it PD.

Mark point A on the line PD such that AP = 12.1 AP is

the slant length = L = 12.1

Join A to B and A to C. Now the triangle is done.

Method 2: You will use a compass. Set the compass to a

radius of 14.3 cm.

Draw a line BC of length 15 cm. Placing the compass

point at B, draw an arc ;placing the compass point at

C,draw another arc. Let the two arcs cut each other.

The intersecting point is the apex A. Join A to B .Join

A to C. Now you have drawn the triangle ABC.

Step 3:
Using the drawing of triangle ABC, transfer the drawing

to the cardboard piece and make a drawing of ABC on the

cardboard. You can use a tracing paper or mark the

points A,B and C and join them.

Cut the triangle ABC. Check the three sides of the

traingle.

You must make four (4) such triangles for the four

sides of the pyramid.

Step 4

Assemble the pyramid: Paste the four sides to the

base with the tape. Also try to bring all the four

sides to the sharp apex. Paste some tapes near the

apex.

Note: Don't worry if the four sides do not get

postioned perfectly well and match . You may find some

gap along the edges. Seal the edges with some paper
strips and paste the edges.

Now paste the edges between any two sloping sides. You

may take the help of another student or friend to hold

the sides together while pasting the sides.

Step 5

Paint the sloping sides with color of your choice or

use a light brown or yellow ochre color.

Optional Step: You can also make a dilute paste of

white glue [add a few drops of water to the glue and

mix well].Using a brush, smear the sides with a light

coat of the glue. Then spray the play sand over the

sides till a thin layer of sand develops over the

sides.

Now the construction of Pyramid is over

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some Calculations

Let us do some calculations to understand the scale

model and the magic of numbers underlying the geometry

of this pyramid:

What is the scaling we have used?

base in the model = B = 15 cm = 0.15 m

base in the pyramid = B' = 230.4 metre

The scale factor = B/B' = 0.15 / 230 = 15/23000 =

1/1533 or approximately,

our model is 1: 1500 model.

Height in the model = H =9.6cm = 0.096 metre

height of the Pyramid = H' = 148 metre

The scale factor = H / H' = 0.096/148 = 9.6/14800 =

1/1541

Again the scale model = 1:1500 [approximately].

Check the dimensions used:

1 The triangle ABC is an isosceles triangle:

Draw a perpendicular from apex A to the base BC. Let

the midpoint of BC is P.

Now APB is a right triangle;so using Pythogorian

theorem:

AP2 + BP2 = BA2

AP = 12.1 cm BP = 7.5 cm

146.4 + 56.25 = 202.66

Then BA= 14.2

This checks with the dimensions of the sloping face or the
pyramid.

2 Now taking the centre of the base of the pyramid, let us draw
a perpendicular from apex A to this center D. Now AD is the
height of the pyramid. Join P and D. Taking the right triangle
ADP. we get

PD = 7.5 cm AP = 12.1 cm

AP2 = PD2 + AD2

146.25 = 56.25 + AD2

AD = 9.48

Pretty close to the height we took as H= 9.6 which is a more

accurate value.

Note: In constructing this pyramid and in the use of dimensions

, the accuracy of + or - 1 mm would be involved. That is oKay!!

The sloping angle of each face is an important parameter in

constructing this pyramid.

We use a bit of trigonometry.

The sloping angle = tangent (angle) = AD/PD = 9.6/7.5 = 1.28

Using a trigonometric table or calculator ,you will find the

angle is 52 deg. tan(52) = 1.28

The egyptologists say that the exact angle is 51 deg 51 min or

51.85 degrees.

Our model is pretty close to that.

How did the Egyptians measure angles and slopes?

The Egyptians used a right triangle concept to measure angles

and fix the slopes.

Take a right triangle ABC, with vertical leg AB and

the horizontal leg BC and the sloping hypotenuse as AC.

Take a right triangle ABC, with vertical leg AB and

the horizontal leg BC and the sloping hypotenuse as AC.
These math wizards always kept the vertical leg AB as 1 cubit.

They divided one cubit [about 53.2 cm] into 7 palms. [One cubit

roughly resembles one elbow length and one palm would be

roughly equal to the length of your palm or palm of an Egyptian
in those days!.]

They divided one palm into 4 digits. [ A digit is close to

length of your digit or finger!]

Keep this in mind:

1 CUBIT = 7 PALMS

1 PALM = 4 DIGITs

Now construct a right triangle ABC with AB,vertical side equal

to 1 cubit always.

But you can vary the horizontal leg BC to get different slopes
for the hypotenuse with respect to horizontal line. If BC=1

cubit= 7 palms , you get '7seked' or the angle is 45 degrees.

The horizontal leg measured in palms they called SEKED or

seqd. "SEKED" BECOMES THE MEASURE OF THE ANGLE OR SLOPE OR

GRADIENT.

Suppose you have 5palm and 2 digit as the horizontal leg BC .

Now BC= 5.5 palms AB= 1 cubit = 7 palms

Then the slope corresponds to the angle whose tangent(angle) =

1 cubit/5.5 palm = 7palms/5.5 palms = =7/5.5 =1.272

the angle ACB = 51.85 degrees.

The slope of Great Pyramid -- 5.5 seked

This is the slope they used for the Great Pyramid. In other
words, they used a right traingle with one leg as 7 units,the
other leg as 5.5 units for slope measure. This gives the

required slope.

The Great Pyramid is then called a " 5.5 seked pyramid."

This kind of taking measures must have been easy to use for
making huge slabs for the sloping face or casing stones and so
on.

[Some pyramids used 5.25 seked or other sekeds too.]

Therefore they used a unit "palm" which is 1/7 of a cubit.

Why did they divide a cubit into 7 equal parts?

There should be some good reasoning behind this. [Britishers

divided a foot into 12 parts and called it an inch. We had

problems in multiplying and dividing by 12 for various

calculations as students. We did not use calculators then.

There was no electronic calculator around. Here Egyptian boys

and girls must have had problems multiplying or dividng by 7, a

prime number at that!---for cubits and palms!! ]

Egyptians measure circumference of a circle

Most probably, though they did not know about pi =3.1416, they
used a simple ratio to convert diameter into circumference of a
circle.That ratio is R= 22/7
We use 22/7 as a simple apporoximation for pi.!

What is the circumference of a circle C then: C= pi x

diameter = pi x D

For Egyptians, C = (22 x D) / 7

Since the denominator is 7 in this equation, it makes sense to

use a measure of "7 parts" or 7palms for D.

Suppose the diameter is 2 cubits length or 14 palms, then

C= 22 x 14/7 = 44 palms.

This becomes a convenient and easy way to calculate circles.

Again taking the Great Pyramid example, the base was 440

cubits. This corresponds to a circle of diameter 140 cubits.!

[440 = (22/7) x 140 ] Now 140 cubits is half the height of the
pyramid.Height of the pyramid H= 280 cubits.The radius of this
imaginary circle is then the height of the pyramid!!!

[May be they drew a circle of this diameter for early

measurements for the base.!]

Now you see the connection why they divided the cubit into 7
palms for the angle or slope.!!

Therefore the Egyptians did not know pi as such,but used the

ratio of (22/7) to relate circumference of a circle to diameter
or radius.A powerful approximation indeed.!!

This also explains why they used base as 440 cubits and height
as 280 cubits for the great Pyramid.

Advanced Math Fun

Mysteries of The Great Pyramid

The Great Pyramid holds several mysteries. Some are

architectural, some mathematical!

Did you wonder why they chose 51.85 deg or say 52 degrees for
the angle between the sloping surface and the base. Why it is

not just 45 degrees? Many may even presume it is 45 degrees.

This mystery was solved by Johannes Kepler, the astronomer, the

same guy who studied the solar system!

Let us consider again the right triangle made with the apex,
the centre of the base area D, and the midpoint of any one side

,P.

This triangle ADP, has three sides : the slant length AP, the
height AD, and half of the base length PD.

Let us find the ratios of these sides:

AP/AD = 12.1 / 9.6=1.28

AP/PD = 12.1/7.5 = 1.613

Hey! This ratio is close to 1.618 which is "Golden Ratio".

You know from Geometry class what this golden ratio or phi
means? You know that the Greeks used this ratio for

width/height of Parthenon to lend aesthetic beauty to that

building. We will say more about this later.

So, the Egyptians used this angle of 52 degrees so that the

ratio of the edge to half of base would be the Golden ratio.

Since ADP is a right triangle, the other side must follow the

Pythogorian formula;

Yes, indeed, if PD =1, and if AD = √1.618 , then AP = √2.618

= 1.618

Let us check this out: PD=1 AD= 1.272 AP = 1.618

Therefore PD:AD:AP = 1 : 1.272 : 1.618

Such a right triangle is called "Kepler Triangle.", in honor of

Joahnnes Kepler.

Did you notice another interesting thing in Kepler's triangle:

Using Pythagoras theorem:

1 + 1.618 = 2.618 = (1.618)2 --------(equation 1)

This relation looks interesting!

Let us call x=1.618

Then equation (1) can be rewritten in the familiar form of

quadratic equation:

1+ x = x2
Or x2 - x - 1 =0

Let us solve this using the Quadratic formula :

One solution is: x = [1 + √ 5] / 2 = (

1 + 2.236)/2 = 1.618

So, the Golden Ratio is the solution for this wonderful

quadratic equation---equation (1)!

We can also write this quadratic equation like this: x = 1 +

1/x

{ if you are interested, study about continued fraction at this

point.}

Fibonacci Sequence:

Let us tie up everything with Fibonacci sequence; Apparently

, rabbit breeding with each generation follows this sequence:

Start with 0 and 1, add the two previous numbers:0,

1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144,.....

Take the ratio of any two consequent numbers in this sequence.

55/34 =1.6176 89/55 = 1.6181818 144/89=

1.6179775

Yes, the ratios tend to the limit of Golden ratio.

So, the Golden ratio is at the base of all these interesting

stuctures, including the Great Pyramid of Giza.

[Note: There are some mathematicians who maintain that the

Egyptians did not know such advanced algebra and math and did
not follow these things. May be they were familiar with
Pythagorian theorem...one doubts that too.!]Yet the fact
remains that they used the sloping angle as 51.85 degree, not

any simple number such as 45 deg or 50 deg or 60 degrees .

One possibility is that they thought in terms of 15 degrees or

multiples &fractions of this. Then possibly they wanted this
slope angle to 15x 3 + 15/2 = 52.5 deg. No ,that is not close

to 51.85 degrees.The mystery remains, unless we use the Golden

ratio argument given here.