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Introduction
With no offense intended, but we think you are completely crazy. We mean, what kind of
person would want a 14 sided building and roof. Although all the shenanigans, it will be our
pleasure to design this tower for you, Mrs. Copeland. Building it though is a different story.
In our opinion, aside from all the nonsense, this does seem like a very unique building.
So the thought of, where would this type of building be built? came up. To our best
knowledge, we believe a special tower like this would look great in a great big city already with
hundreds of towers New York City! Although, of course, it is still always up to you.
So enough of the nonsense. You are giving us the option of designing this tower for you,
also with a good price. Your standards are clearly expressed through your letter. We see that you
want a 14 sided tower, built upon a 28 by 28 ft square plot. You also state that you want the
maximum size possible, whilst remaining within the boundaries of buildable space and
remaining perpendicular in some way shape or form to the available plot. You also want an
aquarium built into the flooring, strong foundations, and walls one foot in thickness. There
were many other little details included as well that will not be ignored.
This tower you have presented to us, Mrs. Copeland, is an intimidating duty. It will
require much effort by both people designated to design this tower. Every ounce of sweat and
tears will be poured into making this tower assignment of yours as perfect as it can be, and we
sincerely hope you are pleased.
The 14 Sided Polygon Maximized on the Plot

The polygon used for my tower is a 14-sided polygon. I have a plot that is 28 ft x 28 ft,
but I am not allowed to build within 3 ft of the edge, per local rules. The tower will be built on
foundations that are the same polygonal shape as the tower. The foundations must be the

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maximum size possible on the plot, without breaking any laws. Then, the tower will be 1 foot in
from the foundations edge, and its walls will be 1 foot thick. Lastly, the foundations will end 1
foot inside of the walls inner edge.
When drawn out, this setup will create four concentric polygons, each exactly 1 foot
further in than the last.

Figure 1. Aerial View of Polygons

(In this image, the scaling factor was 2:1, so all side lengths and areas should be doubled.)
Figure 1 shows the four necessary polygons, within the proper confines of the square.
The original plot size was 28 ft x 28 ft, and nothing can be built within 3 ft of the edge of the
plot. Therefore, the working place is 22 ft x 22 ft (28 minus 3 from each side: 28 - 6).

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Seeing as how the polygons are 14-sided, the central angle must be 25.7143 (360/14).
That means that each angle measure must be 154.29.
In order to maximize the outer polygons area, I have two of its vertices touching the
working area square. This is correct because, had I had two sides touching, two of the vertices
would be slightly outside of the working area, thus violating the local rules of antarctica.

Figure 2. Outermost Polygon Measurements

Figure 2 shows the outermost tetradecagon without its square border. Now, we must find
its area. the first steps to that, however, are to find the side length of the tetradecagon (2y in
Figure 2), and to find the height of each triangle that the tetradecagon is split into (x in Figure 2).
sin(12.8572) = (y)/11
11*sin(12.8572)=y
y 2.45 ft
Figure 3. Finding the Side of Polygon 1
Figure 3 shows the steps to finding the side of Polygon 1, or the outermost polygon. The
hypotenuse of the right triangle in Figure 2, which is equal to 11 ft because it is half of the side

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of the working area, since vertices are touching. The smallest angle in the right triangle is
12.8572, because it is exactly half of 22.7143. I used sine to find the approximate length of the
side of Polygon 1, which is 2.45 ft.
cos(12.8572) = x/11
11*cos(12.8572) = x
x 10.72 ft
Figure 4. Finding the Triangle Height of Polygon 1
Figure 4 shows the steps to finding the triangle height of Polygon 1. We simply used
cosine to find the value that we needed to find.
Area Triangle = (11* (cos 12.8572))*2*(11(sin 12.8572))*2
Area Polygon 1 = 14 * (11* (cos 12.8572))*(11(sin 12.8572))*2
Area Polygon 1 = 7* (11* (cos 12.8572))*(11(sin 12.8572))*2
Area Polygon 1 367.50ft2
Figure 5. Finding the Area of Polygon 1
Figure 5 shows the way we found the area of Polygon. We simply took the exact area of
the sides and found the area of the triangle by the formula (base)(height), and multiplied it by
14, since there are 14 of those triangles in our tetradecagon. So the area if the whole thing is
about 167.50 ft^2. Please note that we used the exact numbers to find the area before rounding
afterwards.

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Figure 6. Second Outermost Polygon Measurements

Figure 6 shows the second outermost polygon, or Polygon 2, as well as the two triangles
necessary for finding its area.
x1 = 11* (cos 12.8572) -1
x1 9.72 ft
Figure 7. Finding the triangle height of Polygon 2
Figure 7 shows the step used to find the triangle height of Polygon 2. Since each polygon
must be scaled in exactly 1 foot from its predecessor, we merely had to subtract 1 from the
previous triangle height in order to find the new triangle height.
tan (12.8572) = y1/ (11* cos (12.8572)-1)
y1 = ((11* (cos (12.8572)))-1) * tan (12.8572)
y1 2.22 ft
Figure 8. Finding the Side of Polygon 2
Figure 8 shows the process used to find the side length of Polygon 2. We used the
trigonometric ratio tangent to find the side length this time.

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AreaTriangle 2 = * (11* (cos 12.8572)-1) * (11* (cos 12.8572)-1) * (tan 12.8572)*2
AreaPolygon 2 = 14 * *(11* (cos 12.8572)-1) * (11* (cos 12.8572)-1) * (tan 12.8572)*2
AreaPolygon 2 = 7 * (11* (cos 12.8572)-1) * (11* (cos 12.8572)-1) * (tan 12.8572)*2
AreaPolygon 2 = 302.16 ft2
Figure 9. Finding the Area of Polygon 2
Again, we found the area of the polygon by taking the area of one triangle and
multiplying it by 18. The area turned out to be approximately 302.16 ft^2.

Figure 10. Second Innermost Polygon Measurements

Figure 10 displays the second innermost polygon, or Polygon 3, as well as the two
triangles necessary for finding its area.
x2 = 11* (cos 12.8572) -2
x2 8.72 ft
Figure 11. Finding the Triangle Height of Polygon 3

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Figure 11 shows how to find the triangle height of Polygon 3. Again, we just needed to
subtract 1 from the previous height.
tan 12.8572 = y2/ (11* (cos 12.8572)-2)
y2 = ((11* (cos (12.8572)))-2) * (tan (12.8572))
y2 1.99 ft
Figure 12. Finding the Side of Polygon 3
Figure 12 shows how to find the side of Polygon 3. Again, here we used the trigonometric
ratio of tangent to achieve the correct value.
AreaTriangle 3 = * (11* (cos 12.8572)-2) * (11* (cos 12.8572)-2) * (tan 12.8572)*2
AreaPolygon 3 = 14 * * (11* (cos 12.8572)-2) * (11* (cos 12.8572)-2) * (tan 12.8572)*2
AreaPolygon 3 = 7 * (11* (cos 12.8572)-2) * ((11* (cos (12.8572)))-2) * (tan (12.8572))*2
AreaPolygon 3 = 243.21 ft2
Figure 13. Finding the Area of Polygon 3
The area of Polygon 3, found by multiplying the area of its triangle by 14, is found in
Figure 13. It is about 243.2 ft^2.

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Figure 14. Innermost Polygon Measurements

Figure 14 displays the innermost polygon, or Polygon 4, as well as the two triangles
necessary for finding its area.
x3 = 11* (cos 12.8572) -3
x3 7.72 ft
Figure 15. Finding the Triangle Height of Polygon 4
For the last time, Figure 15 shows the steps of how to calculate the height of the Polygon
4 triangle. We just subtracted another 1.
tan 12.8572 = y3/ (11* (cos 12.8572)-3)
y3 = ((11* (cos (12.8572)))-3) * (tan (12.8572))
y3 1.76 ft
Figure 16. Finding the Side of Polygon 4
Figure 16 gives the steps to finding the side of Polygon 4. Once again, we used tangent to
find the value.

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AreaTriangle 4 = * (11* (cos 12.8572)-3)* (11* (cos 12.8572)-3) * (tan 12.8572)*2
AreaPolygon 4 = 14 * * (11* (cos 12.8572)-3) * (11* (cos 12.8572)-3) * (tan 12.8572)*2
AreaPolygon 4 = 7 * (11* (cos 12.8572)-3) * ((11* (cos (12.8572)))-3) * (tan (12.8572))*2
AreaPolygon 4 = 190.65ft2
Figure 17. Finding the Area of Polygon 4
For the last time, Figure 17 shows how to find the area of Polygon 4. We found the area
of the triangle, then multiplied by 14. The area ends up being approximately 190.65 ft2.
Volume of the Concrete Needed for the Footing and the Floor
Our tower will have foundations that are the same shape as the tower itself. These
foundations will be 3.5 ft deep and made of solid concrete, for maximum support. In addition,
they will stretch all the way from Polygon 1 to Polygon 4. Contained within the foundations, or
in Polygon 4, there will be an aquarium with many different types of fish (fish not included with
house). The floor above the aquarium will be made of 4-inch Plexiglas, so that anyone walking
above can view the fish below them. The water in the aquarium will fill exactly 75% of the total
volume within the foundations. We hope that, after we finish, you will find it

Figure 18. Foundations Diagram and Measurements

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Figure 18 displays just the foundations of the tower. Now, we have to find the volume of
them. To do that, we have to find out the area of the ring that the foundations are made in; the
ring that stretches from Polygon 1 to Polygon 4. Then the volume will easily be found by
multiplying that area by 3.5, since the foundations are 3.5 ft deep.
AreaFooting= (AreaPolygon 1 - AreaPolygon 4 )
AreaFooting= ((7* (11* (cos (12.8572)))*(11(sin (12.8572)))*2)-(7 * (11* (cos (12.8572))-3) *
(11* (cos (12.8572))-3) * (tan (12.8572))*2))
AreaFooting 176.85 ft2
Figure 19. Finding the Area of the Foundations
In Figure 19, we found the area of the ring that the foundations are made in. All we had to
do was subtract the area of Polygon 4 (Figure 17) from Polygon 1 (Figure 5), which
approximated to 176.85 ft2. Now that we have this area, finding the volume will be very easy.

VolumeFooting = ((7* (11* (cos (12.8572)))*(11(sin (12.8572)))*2)-(7 * (11* (cos (12.8572))-3)

* (11* (cos (12.8572))-3) * (tan (12.8572))*2)) * 3.5
VolumeFooting 618.98 ft3
Figure 20. Finding the Volume of the Foundations
Finding the volume of the foundations was very easy. We straightforwardly took the area
of that ring and multiplied it by 3.5, which is how deep the foundation will go. We got the
volume of the foundation to be about 618.98 ft3.
Concrete Fast has agreed to give us a discounted price on their Super-Fast-DryingConcrete in order to build your tower. Each bag of Super-Fast-Drying-Concrete contains exactly
1 cubic yards of concrete we will need to lay the foundations. Currently, the volume is in cubic
feet, so we need to convert it.

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VolumeFooting = 618.98/27
VolumeFooting = 22.92yd3
Figure 21. Converting Cubic Feet Volume to Cubic Yard Volume
There are exactly 27 ft3 for every 1 yd3, so we just divided the volume of the foundations
(in ft3) by 27 in order to get the volume of the foundations in yd3. This volume turned out to be
about 22.93yd3, which equates to 23 bags of Super-Fast-Drying-Concrete (since we cant buy
part of a bag). Therefore, the cost of the concrete can now be found.
Cost =23*115
Cost = $2645
Figure 22. Cost Analysis of the Foundations
By multiplying the number of bags of Super-Fast-Drying-Concrete that well need by the
cost of one bag, we found the total amount of money the foundations will cost. They will sot
$2645.

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Figure 23. Plexiglas Diagram and Measurements
Figure 23 shows the Plexiglas floor. It is exactly 4 in thick, or ft thick. Since it takes up
Polygon 4, it has the same measurements as Polygon 4. We want to find the volume, and we have
all the necessary measurements.
VolumePlexiglas = (4)* Area of Polygon 4
VolumePlexiglas = ()*(190.65)
VolumePlexiglas = 63.55 ft3
Figure 24. Finding the Volume of the Plexiglas Floor
To find the volume of the Plexiglas, all we needed to do was multiply the area of Polygon
4 (Figure 17) by , since the plexiglas is ft thick.
Clear Plexiglas Co. has offered us a great price for their Amazing-Durable-High-QualityPlexiglas, which comes in sheets of 4 ft x 8 ft. The sheets are already 4 inches thick, so we wont
have to worry about the thickness. Since each sheet is 4 x 8, that means that the area of one sheet
is 32 ft2. Each of these sheets will cost $1,100. Now we need to find out how many sheets well
need to finish the Plexiglas floor above the aquarium.
Plexiglas = 190.65/32
Plexiglas 5.96
Plexiglas 6 sheets
Figure 25. Finding the Number of Plexiglas Sheets Necessary
We divided the total area of Polygon 4 by the area of one Plexiglas sheet in order to find
the number of sheets we would need. Again, we rounded up because we cant order part of the
Amazing-Durable-High-Quality-Plexiglas sheets.
Cost of Plexiglass = 1100$ per sheet

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Cost of Plexiglass = 1100*6
Cost of Plexiglass = 6600$
Figure 26. Cost of Plexiglass
Figure 26 above shows the cost of the plexiglass that will be needed for Mrs. Copeland
floor. A sheet of plexiglass cost 1100$, and there are 6 pieces of plexiglass needed for the
flooring. So, the number of sheets needed, 6, multiplied by the cost of one sheet, 1100$, equals a
total of 6600$ for the making of the floor.

Figure 27. Diagram and Measurements of Aquarium

In figure 27, a diagram has been made of the aquarium that goes under the flooring. The
aquarium will also be placed within the concrete, making the height of the aquarium 3.5 ft. The
aquarium will only be filled with 75% water although. The measurements of the 14-gon are the
same as the ones on polygon 4.

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VolumeAquarium = 3.5*Polygon 4
VolumeAquarium = (3.5)*(7 * (11* (cos (12.8572))-3) * (11* (cos (12.8572))-3) * (tan
(12.8572)*2)
VolumeAquarium 667.27 ft^3
Figure 28. Volume of Aquarium
In figure 28, the volume of the aquarium is calculated. The area of the base is equal to
that of polygon 4, so that is already known. The height of the aquarium is 3.5 ft because it is
encased within the concrete of the tower, which has a height of 3.5 ft. So then the area of
polygon 4 was multiplied by 3.5 to find the volume of the aquarium., approximately 667.27 ft3.
VolumeWater = VolumeAquarium*
VolumeWater = ((3.5)*(7 * (11* (cos (12.8572))-3) * (11* (cos (12.8572))-3) * (tan
(12.8572)*2))*()
VolumeWater = 500.46 ft3
Figure 29. Calculating the Volume of the Water in the Aquarium
Its just as easy as that. We calculated the amount of water in the aquarium to be about
500.46 ft3. It is found by multiplying the volume of the aquarium by to get the volume of the
water.

One Lateral Face of the Outer Prism

Each of the 14 walls of our tower will be exactly twice as tall as they are wide. Since
these walls are positioned on Polygon 2, I know that their width will be the same as the side
length of Polygon 2.
Also, there will be one door and two windows on the tower. The door will be composed
of a 5 ft x 3 ft rectangle as well as half the tetradecagon above the rectangle. Each window will

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have the same dimensions as the half-polygon above the door, except that they will be full
polygons.

Figure 30. Polygon of the Outer Prism

Figure 30 displays Polygon 2, which is the polygon that the walls will be contained
within. Each side of Polygon 2 is approximately 4.44 ft.

Figure 30. Lateral Face and Door Diagram and Measurement

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Figure 30 clearly displays one lateral face of the outer prism of the tower. The dimensions
of one face are 4.44 ft (the side of Polygon 2) by 8.88 ft (the side of Polygon 2 times 2, because
each side must be twice as tall as it is wide).
sin 12.8572 = (b/1.5)
b = 2*(1.5)*(sin 12.8572)
b 0.67
Figure 31. Finding the Side of the Door
First of all, we know that half of the doors length is 1.5 ft, because the full length from
one side to an opposite side must be 3 (to fit the door). Doing the maximizes the area that the
polygon-half can have, and also maximizes the height of the door. From there, easy
trigonometric ratios were used to determine the length of one side of the polygon. The side of the
polygon was calculated to be approximately 0.33 ft.
AreaDoor = 3(5) + (7)()(1.46)(0.67)
AreaDoor =18.42 ft2
Figure 32. Finding the Area of the Door
Figure 32 shows the steps to finding the area of the door. All we had to do was add the
area of the rectangle with the area of the half-polygon. The rectangle was very easy; just base
times height. The area of the polygon was found in the same manner as the area of the base
polygons (Polygon 1, Polygon 2, etc.). The only difference is that the answer is cut in half,
because only half of the polygon makes up the door. The total area of the door came out to be
about 18.42 ft2.

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Figure 33. Lateral Face and indow Diagram and Measurements

The dimensions of lateral face for the window are the dimensions for the lateral face of
the door, obviously. Also, the window has the same dimensions as the top of the door. This made
further calculations very easy.
AreaWindow = 14 ()(1.46)(0.67)
AreaWindow 6.85 ft2
Figure 34. Finding the Area of the Window
Since all the measurements were already found when finding the area of the door, all we
had to do was plug the number in together. Again, we found the area of the polygon in the same
fashion as all the other polygons. The area of the window is about 6.85 ft2.
The last step is to find the lateral surface area of the entire bottom prism of the tower. Of
course, we also need to subtract the areas for the door and the windows.

LSA = 18(4.44)(8.88) - (18.42+2(6.85))

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LSA = 709.69 - 32.12
LSA 677.57 ft2
Figure 35. Finding the Total Surface Area of the Outer Prism
We found the surface area of the prism by multiplying the width times the height for each
side of the prism, and multiplying that value by fourteen. We then subtracted the values for the
door and the two windows, to get a lateral surface area approximately 677.57 ft2.

Volume of the Inner Base Prism

The inner prism makes up the walls on the inside of the tower. All of these walls will be
associated with polygon 3. The inner prism is 1 foot thick.

Figure 36. Polygon of the Inner Prism

Figure 36 shows how that polygon 3 will be used for the inner prism, just as polygon 2
was used for the outer faces. Its measurements were previously calculated, each side is
approximately 3.98 ft.

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Figure 37. Lateral Face Diagram and Measurements

In Figure 37 above, the lateral face diagram and measurements of the inner prisms are
discussed. Its width is the same as the side length of Polygon 3 (because that is where the inner
prism lays), and the height must be the same as the outer prism, otherwise the walls would slant
and unusual things would happen.
VolumeInner Prism = (8.88)*(243.21)
VolumeInner Prism = 2159.69 ft3
Figure 38. Volume of the Inner Prism
This figure displays the volume of the inner prism. It was simply done, the height of the
wall, which is 8.88, times the area of the base, which is polygon 3 243.21, to get a volume of
approximately 2159.69 ft3.

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

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Now its time for the roof of the tower. This will be made of a pyramid, with, again, the
same number of sides as the base polygon. The height of this outer pyramid must be 3 times the
length of one side of its base. This outer pyramid will reside in Polygon 2.

Figure 39. Outer Pyramid Diagram and Measurements

Figure 39 displays the base of the outer pyramid, as well as one of the lateral faces of the
pyramid. Some of the measurements in Figure 39 area already known, such as the side length
4.44 and the line PO as in 9.73. These measurements have already been found when calculating
the measurements of Polygon 2. The value of 13.32 can also be easily found by multiplying the
side of the polygon by 3, since the pyramid will be exactly three times as high as one side of its
base. The last two values, the slant height and angle measure, will take some calculations.

SL = (9.722+13.322)
SL = (94.48 + 117.42)
SL = 271.90

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SL 16.49 ft
Figure 40. Finding the Slant Height of the Outer Pyramid
To find the slant height of the outer pyramid, we used the right triangle that is formed by
the apothem of the base and the height of the pyramid. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, we were
able to calculate the slant height as being about 16.49 ft.
tan-1(13.32/9.72)
53.88
Figure 41. Finding the Angle Between the Prism Base and the Pyramid Face
To know all angles and make our model as close to real as possible, I wanted to figure out
the angle between the prisms outer prism base and the outer pyramid face. Using the ratio of
tangent in trigonometry, then applied the inverse tangent to find the missing angle, which was
calculated to be 53.88.

One Lateral Face of the Outer Pyramid

No that we have the needed values, we need to find the lateral surface area of the outer
pyramid, as well as a few other things.

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Figure 42. Diagram and Measurements of One Lateral Face

Both the base and the height of the triangular lateral face have already been found.
However, the unknown angle measures should be calculated.
tan-1(16.49/(4.44/2))
82.33
Figure 43. Finding the Base Angle of the Triangular Lateral Face
Using inverse tangent, as well as the measurements we found previously, we were able to
calculate the base angles to be about 82.33.
(tan-1((2.22)/16.49))
7.67*2
15.33
Figure 44. Finding the Angle at the Top of the Triangular Lateral Face
Once again, I used inverse tangent to figure out the last angle of the triangular face of the
pyramid. Now that thats over and done with, its time to work out the lateral surface area.
LSA = 14()(4.44)(16.49)

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LSA 512.51 ft2
Figure 45. Finding the Lateral Surface Area of the Outer Pyramid
All we had to do here is find the lateral surface area. WE had to find the area of one
lateral face and multiply it by fourteen. The base of that face was 4.44 ft, and the height was
16.49 ft, making tge lateral surface area approximately 512.51 ft2.

Pyramid Top of the Inner Pyramid Showing the Height of the Inner Pyramid
The inner pyramid will reside in Polygon 3, just like inner prism. Just like for the outer
pyramid, the height of the inner pyramid must be three times the length of one side of its base.
We need to find the volume of the inner pyramid.

Figure 46. Inner Pyramid Diagram and Measurements

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Once again, the measurements for the base of the pyramid are the same as the
measurements of Polygon 3. Finding the height was a easy procedure of multiplying the base by
3.
VolumePyramid = ()(11.94)(243.21)
VolumePyramid 967.98 ft3
Figure 47. Volume of the Inner Pyramid
Using the volume of a pyramid formula: V = ()(area of base)(height), we were able to
find the volume of the inner pyramid. It came out to be approximately 967.98 ft2.

My Tower
So now everything is all done! Everything is calculated, and all that is left is to put it all
together.

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Figure 48. The Completed Tower
In Figure 48, you can clearly see the finished tower in all its glory. Now its time to find
the total surface area and volume!
SA = 677.57 + 512.51
SA 1190.08 ft2
Figure 49. Calculating the Total Surface Area
In Figure 49, the two surface areas previously found were easily added to get the total
surface area of my tower. Which is approximately 1190.08 ft2
VolumeTower = 2159.69 + 967.98
VolumeTower = 3127.67 ft3
Figure 50. Calculating the Total Volume
In the figure above, I simply added together the two volumes found previously. The total
volume of my tower is approximately 3127.67 ft3.

Conclusion
Throughout all these calculations, we had some minor issues. One of was having too
many parentheses for our exact measurements, so then misplacing some. These has to be done
over again correctly and precisely. Other than that, nothing too major.
I honestly hope that you find our tower to be very amusing Mrs. Copeland. With 2159.69
ft3 of available space on the inside of your tower, theres no stop to all the unlimited possibilities
you could do to it! There will also be an example that can be done to your tower that will be
shown on our model. Also with 1190.08 ft2 of space to decorate the outside of your tower, who
knows what can be done! Your tower will definitely stand out, even in a busy place like NYC if
you choose to build it there!

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In conclusion, even through all the challenges and difficulties, we would be greatly
grateful if you chose our tower design aside from all the others, still including our pay. Thank
you, from the both of us.

Sincerely,