Math in Construction

Math and buildings — How math makes construction possible

Christina Sng for Maths@Singapore

Today, I met a man in the construction sector and had a lovely chat with him. It reminded me how important this sector is in our world. After all, we all need a place to live in and it is the construction industry that builds it.

It got me wondering what kind of math one needs to build a house or building?

To plan their blueprints, architects use geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. They calculate the probability of problems that might occur. Ratio is utilized when building from the blueprints to ensure the proportions are correct. The Pythagorean theoreom ensures builders accurately measure right angles.

“Construction workers add, subtract, divide, multiply, and work with fractions. They measure the area, volume, length, and width. How much steel do they need for an office building? How much weight in books and furniture will the library floors need to bear? Even building a small single-family home calls for careful calculations of square footage, wall angles, roofs, and room sizes. How many square yards of carpet? How much water do you need to fill up a swimming pool?”

Math is critical in the planning, building, and assurance that our homes are safe to live in. There’s a reason we all study trig after all!

For more, read this comprehensive piece on the topic: https://www.dreambox.com/resources/blogs/architecture-and-construction-through-mathematics

Thanks to All Bong @all_bong for making this photo available freely on Unsplash

Author

Christina Sng is a three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author that finds peace in mathematics and the macabre. Her poetry, fiction, essays, and art appear in Fantastic Stories of the Imagination, Interstellar Flight Magazine, and The Washington Post. Aside from having over 20 years of experience in the field of writing, she also has an extensive background in UX design and IT. Her educational background combined with her interests and neverending curiosity about the world is the perfect recipe to have her tackle fascinating topics about math. She is able to approach the highly logical field of mathematics through an extremely creative lens that sheds new light and exposes new avenues on how it impacts our lives.