NOVA Online/Pyramids/Scaling the Pyramids/Scale Model

Posted by Chauncey Koziol on Sunday, July 28, 2024
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Scale Model of the Great Pyramid

You can build a model of the Great Pyramid, but first you need to scale it down. To do this, you will need to make the pyramid 3,000 times smaller than it really is! To achieve that, every 30 meters of the pyramid is represented as 1 centimeter on the outline provided.

Once you have printed and assembled your scaled-down model of the Great Pyramid, you can compare it to scaled-down versions of other buildings and objects, including people.

ObjectActual
Height
Scale
Height
(1 cm =
30 m)
Object
to represent
scaled-down
height
Great Pyramid146.5 m4.9 cmpaper pyramid
Statue of Liberty92 m3 cmsmall paper clip
Sears Building443 m14.8 cmball-point pen
Average person1.7 m.05 cm (.5 mm)grain of salt
Eiffel Tower300 m??
Leaning
Tower of Pisa
55 m??

Try finding the scale heights for other objects, such as the tallest building in your neighborhood, your home, or your height. To do this, divide the object's height in meters by 30 to get its scale height in centimeters. Then find an object to represent it next to your paper pyramid.

Now it's your turn to scale a pyramid!

We've scaled down the Great Pyramid for you. Now it's up to you to see if you can create scale models of the other two pyramids on the Giza Plateau, Khafre and Menkaure. Here are their actual dimensions:

Khafre

  • Base: 214.5 m (704 ft) on each side
  • Height: 143.5 m (471 ft) tall
  • Angle of Incline: 53 degrees 7' 48"

Menkaure

  • Base: 110 m (345.5 ft) on each side
  • Height: 68.8 m (216 ft) tall
  • Angle of Incline: 51.3 degrees

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