1. Mechanics and Structures featuring Zometool
Tall Towers on a Budget – Level 2

2. What You’ll Learn… Stuff You’ll Need…
How geometric elements affect structural design and strength
Stuff You’ll Need…
Zometool Kit
A worksheet (paper or electronic) to calculate the cost of your bridge

3. What You Should Know…
You should already be familiar with Zometool and understand how the different parts work together.
If you are not familiar with the Zometool system, go back and review the “What You Need to Know” section of one of the Level 1 Zometool Learning Launchers.

4. What You Should Know…
Have you ever wondered how skyscrapers are designed?
Architects and engineers must design buildings to be strong, meet the design objectives for the building and be as INEXPENSIVE as possible.
Creating the best design to balance all these needs requires a special kind of problem solving.

5. Do It!
The Sparks City Council has asked your company, Swift Construction, to design a landmark tower for its new city center development.
They have given you a budget of $2,000,000 to design the tallest structure you can. And it has to be strong enough to support all the weight it must hold!

6. Do It & Research Structural Steel Material Costs
Use Zometools to design a scale model of your tower. Your cost for building materials is listed below.
Keep track of your construction costs and be sure to stay within budget!
Make sure to record your budget in your Word document!
How high can you go?
Structural Steel Material Costs
Nodes $20,000
Short Struts Yellow - $6, Blue - $6, Red - $7,000
Medium Struts Yellow - $20,000 Blue - $25,000 Red - $30,000
Long Struts Yellow - $40,000 Blue - $50,000 Red - $60,000

7. Do It! & Research Complete the following
Create a formal proposal to present to the City Council. Why they should select Tip Top Construction for the project?
Using your Zometool design as a scale model, calculate the dimensions of the full-size tower. Assume a scale of 1 cm =0.5 meters. Label a picture or drawing of your scale model with the full-size dimensions. How many floors would it be?