Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering 1

GEC 3-Mathematics in the Modern World

MODULE 5: Geometric Design

INTRODUCTION

Geometrical design (GD) is a branch of computational geometry. It deals with the

construction and representation of free-form curves, surfaces, or volumes and is closely
related to geometric modelling. Core problems are curve and surface modelling and
representation. GD studies especially the construction and manipulation of curves and
surfaces given by a set of points using polynomial, rational, piecewise polynomial, or
piecewise rational methods.

OBJECTIVES

 know and/or identify the different geometric designs

 define key terms under geometric designs
 determine the differences between geometric shapes, patterns, and diagrams
 solve/compute problems involving and/or under geometric designs
 create and/or formulate at least one geometric design; and
 appreciate and manifest the value of mathematics particularly the geometry in this
modern world especially to the enrichment of the Filipino culture and arts

DISCUSSION PROPER

Recognizing and analyzing geometric shapes

Polygons

In elementary geometry, a polygon is a plane figure that is bounded by a finite chain of

straight-line segments closing in a loop to form a closed polygonal chain or circuit.
These segments are called its edges or sides, and the points where two edges meet are
the polygon's vertices or corners. The interior of the polygon is sometimes called its
body.

An n-gon is a polygon with n sides (e.g., a triangle is a 3-gon).

A polygon is a two-dimensional example of the more general polytope in any number of

dimensions.

Different Types of Polygons

Simple Complex

Prepared by: Engr. Jerico P. Fiel

 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering 2

Solids
Geometric Solids are 3-Dimensional (or “3-D”) shapes – which means they have the 3
dimensions of width, depth, and height. Basic examples are spheres, cubes, cylinders,
and pyramids. But there are lots of others. Some geometric solids have faces that are
flat, curved, or both. Some have faces that are all the same shape. Some have faces that
are different shapes. But they all have 3 dimensions.

Cylinder Pyramid Sphere Cube

Non-polyhedra

Describes any geometric solid that has any surface that is not flat, like a sphere, cone,
cylinder, or torus.

Sphere Cone Cylinder Torus

Polyhedra

Describes a geometric solid that has all flat faces (but the faces don’t have to be the same size or shape).
Polyhedra must have at least 4 faces (but there is no limit to how many faces they can have). Some
examples of polyhedra are pictured below:

Prepared by: Engr. Jerico P. Fiel

 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering 3

Pentagonal prism Truncated tetrahedron Truncated Dodecahedron

Truncated cube Rhombicuboctahedron

Some of the Polyhedra are called Truncated. Truncated means that something is cut off.
That is, the corners, called “vertices,” are cut off and replaced with a new face. For
example, a truncated cube has new triangle shaped faces where the cube’s vertices were.
The shape of the original polyhedra will determine the shape of the new face in each
vertex.

Platonic Solids
A Platonic Solid is a special type of
Polyhedra, in which each face is exactly
the same, and the same number of faces
meet at each corner, or vertex. They were
named after a famous philosopher and
mathematician from ancient Greece
named Plato.

Amazingly, there are only 5 geometric solids that qualify as platonic solids.

Prepared by: Engr. Jerico P. Fiel

 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering 4

Transformations (flips, slides, turns, resize)

▪ Figures in a plane can be reflected, rotated, slid (translated) or resized (dilated) to

produce new figures.
▪ The new figure is the image, and the original figure is the pre-image
▪ The operation that maps (or moves) the pre-image onto the image is called a
transformation

4 Basic Transformations

Geometric Problems

Geometric problems are types of problem that requires geometric solutions. It involves
two dimensional and three dimensional problems.

Example 1: Find the length and the width of a rectangle if its perimeter is 44 m while its
area is 120 m2.

Solution:
Perimeter, 𝑃 = 2𝐿 + 2𝑊 = 44
120
Area, 𝐴 = 𝐿𝑊 = 120, from here we get 𝑊 = 𝐿
Substituting the value to the first equation,
120
2𝐿 + 2 ( ) = 44
𝐿
We get two roots, 𝐿 = 10 𝑜𝑟 𝐿 = 12
120
If 𝐿 = 10𝑚, 𝑊 = 10 = 12𝑚 (we presume L>W)
120
If 𝐿 = 12𝑚, 𝑊 = = 10𝑚
10
The answer is 𝑳 = 𝟏𝟐𝒎 and 𝑾 = 𝟏𝟎𝒎.

Prepared by: Engr. Jerico P. Fiel

 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering 5

Example 2: Find the area of an octagon inscribed in a circle of radius 10cm.

Solution:
360
𝜃= = 450
8
1
𝐴 𝑇 = 2 𝑟 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
1
𝐴 𝑇 = 2 (10)2 sin(45)
𝐴 𝑇 = 25√2 𝑐𝑚2

𝐴 = 8𝐴 𝑇
𝐴 = 8(25√2)
𝑨 = 𝟐𝟖𝟐. 𝟖𝟒𝟑 𝒄𝒎𝟐

Example 3: Find the volume of a cube inscribed in a sphere of radius 10cm.

Solution:
Relationship between diameter to side of cube,
𝑑 = √3𝑎
2(10) = √3𝑎
20√3
𝑎= 3
3
3 20√3
𝑉=𝑎 =( ) = 𝟏𝟓𝟑𝟗. 𝟔𝟎𝟏 𝒄𝒎𝟑
3

Prepared by: Engr. Jerico P. Fiel

 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering 6

SUMMARY

Geometric problems originating in architecture can lead to interesting research and

results in geometry processing, computer-aided geometric design, and discrete
differential geometry. In architecture, geometric design is associated into
transformational geometry as a design idiom, and applications of this design idiom within
the domain of architectural geometry.

REFERENCES

Books:
Mathematics in the Modern World, 14th Edition Aufman Richard, et. al.,,
Mathematics in the Modern World, Philippine Edition by REX Book Store
Mathematics in the Modern World, by Esmeralda A. Manlulu, et. al.

ISUI-CvE-Mod
Revision: 02
Effectivity: August 1, 2020

Prepared by: Engr. Jerico P. Fiel