Calculating Volume Using Architectural Drawings

Students will use real world examples of mathematics to determine the volume of historic Tennessee buildings.

Weblink address (URL): 
Calculating Volume Using Architectural Drawings
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Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives: 
  • Students will calculate the volume of a building using appropriate units of measurement.
  • Students will determine the difference between area and volume in the context of buildings.
Essential and guiding questions: 

How to architects use and depict area and volume measurements? Can two buildings have the same areas (square units) but different volumes (cubic units)? Why or why not? 

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Applying
Extension suggestions: 

Find out more about the history and visitor information for the Tennessee State Capitol building by visiting the following Web sites:

Students can examine photographs of the inside and outside of the Tennessee State Capitol building from the Web sites listed above can compare them to the historic photographs listed on the surveys for each building. Have the buildings changed at all? You could even take a field trip to downtown Nashville, so that students can compare the drawings to the pictures and the actual site!

Helpful Hints

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS:

  • Class set of calculators
  • Class set of highlighters
  • “Calculating Volume using Architectural Drawings” worksheet
  • Tennessee State Capitol: Front Elevation
  • Tennessee State Capitol: First Floor Plan
  • Tennessee State Capitol: Second Floor Plan