NCGA GeoMath Lesson Plan
Name of Lesson
Tallest Buildings in the World
Time for Instruction
10 minutes
Essential Question(s)
Are the angles of elevation and the angle of depression the same?
Higher Order Thinking Question(s)
How can the height of a building be determined by right angle trigonometry?
Common Core Standard(s)
Define trigonometric ratios and solve problems involving right triangles
CCSS.Math.Content.HSG.SRT.C.6
Understand that by similarity, side ratios in right triangles are properties of the angles in the
triangle, leading to definitions of trigonometric ratios for acute angles.
Common
Core
Mathematics
CCSS.Math.Content.HSG.SRT.C.7
Explain and use the relationship between the sine and cosine of complementary angles.
CCSS.Math.Content.HSG.SRT.C.8
Use trigonometric ratios and the Pythagorean Theorem to solve right triangles in applied
problems.*
National Geography Objective(s)
2. Perceptions of places and regions change by incorporating multiple direct and indirect
experiences
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Analyze the ways in which people change their views of places and regions as a result of
media reports or interactions with other people, as exemplified by being able to
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8th grade 6
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Describe the changing views people may develop about places featured prominently
in the news (e.g., Super Bowl site or World Series cities, the scene of a natural
disaster, a venue hosting a significant international meeting).
Analyze the way in which traveling to a new place (city, state, or country) may
change prior views of that place to more informed and developed views based on the
experiences there (e.g., travel for sporting contests at schools, travel for outdoor
recreational activities, travel for historical interests or visiting museums).
Analyze the effects of different sources of information that may cause people to
change their views of a place or region (e.g., travel brochures or guidebooks, cable
travel channels or documentaries, information from friends or family).
Prerequisite skills/knowledge
Apply the Tangent Function
Summary
Students will be exposed to world geography through a lesson on right angle trigonometry. Students will
view several images of the world’s tallest building. Tidbits of information such as how many elevators the
building has should engage students’ interest. Students will calculate the angle of elevation as if they were
standing on the ground looking up at the building; they will also inductively discover that the angle of
depression is the same measurement as the elevated angle. The lesson is designed as a class introduction to
applications of right triangle trigonometry.
Vocabulary
Mathematical Terms
Geography Terms
Sine
Cosine
Tangent
Degrees
Right Triangle
Angle of Elevation
Angle of Depression
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
China
Taiwan
Life Expectancy
Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
Instructional Strategies/Sequence
Bell ringer: Ask students to predict the height of each building?
The height of the Shanghai World Financial Center is not given because students must determine the height in a
later activity.
Lesson: Students will use the data for each building to determine the angle of elevation, the angle of depression or
the height of the building.
Instructional Resources
CIA World Factbook
Skyscraper Center
Formative Assessment
Monitor students’ work while completing the calculations
Differentiation
Guide students to set up the calculation.
Enrichment
Students calculate the percent difference in height from the 2nd tallest to the tallest building.
Students investigate the height of the building without their towers.
Students map the location of each of the 10 tallest buildings.