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Great Pyramid of Giza and Tales

• The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops in Greek) is the only surviving wonder of the Ancient times. It was built in the 26th century BC. There are actually three pyramids located there, along with the Great Sphinx of Giza and the biggest is The Great Pyramid of Khufu. This architectural marvel is found in the city of Giza, a necropolis of ancient Memphis, and today part of Greater Cairo, Egypt.

King Khufu was the second pharaoh of the fourth dynasty of rulers in Egypt. It took about 20 years to build the pyramid of Khufu. He was buried alone in this massive tomb. The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt were built as tombs for Kings and it was the exclusive privilege to have a Pyramid tomb. His wives may have been buried nearby in smaller mastabas.

• The exact number of stones was originally estimated at 2,300,000 stone blocks weighing from 2-30 tons each, with some weighing up to 70 tons.

• The pyramid base covers an area of 13 square acres.

• The estimated total weight of the structure is 6.5 million tons.

With 146.7 m high, the Great Pyramid stood as the tallest structure in the world until the French built the Eiffel Tower

in 1889 . Today it stands at 137 m high, having lost 9.7 m from the top.

Here's how the Great Pyramid compares to some modern structures.

Thales• Thales was one of the Seven Wise men of Greece.

His fame as a mathematician rests upon his suppose discovery of seven geometrical propositions.

• Thales travelled extensively to the older centers of civilization when he was a young man.

• Naturally, Thales' visit to Egypt was not complete without a sightseeing trip to the desert plateau of Giza, to see the three pyramids and the Sphinx half-buried in the sand nearby. In 6oo BC the pyramids were about 2000 years old. Thales hired guides and took a Greek friend along….

HOW HIGH IS THE PYRAMID?

• Thales figured out a way to measure the height of the pyramid. He measured the length of the pyramid's base and the height of his pole. Then at the same time of the day he measured the length pyramid's shadow and the length of the pole's shadow. This yields him the following data to work with:

• height of the pole (A): 2m• shadow of the pole (B): 1.63m• length of the pyramid base: 230m• shadow of the pyramid: 65m

• From this he calculated:

• Knowing A,B and C he was now able to apply the intercept theorem to calculate:

Triangles - Thales Theorem or Basic Proportionality Theorem

The line drawn parallel to a side of a triangle intersecting other two sides at distinct points divides them in same ratio.

• Thales bridged the worlds of myth and reason with his belief that to understand the world, we must know it’s nature. He believed that all phenomena could be explained in natural terms, contrary to the popular belief at the time that supernatural forces determined almost everything.

The End

Thank you

Matea Pavlović