25. September 2017

Task of the Week: Europe Tower

The current Task of the Week deals with one of the many landmarks of Frankfurt: the Europe tower, also known as “asparagus”. The related task is to estimate the own distance to the tower using the intercept theorems.


Task: Europe Tower (task number: 1595)

Determine the distance from your location to the Europe Tower. Give the result in meters. Info: the pulpit has a diameter of 59 m.


The first challenge is to find a suitable solution. With the aid of the intercept theorems, the task can be solved with the use of one’s own body. The arm and thumbs are streched so that the pulpit of the tower is covered with one eye opened. Afterwards the distance to the tower can be calculated with help of the thumb width and the arm length or distance from thumb to eye.

The task is a successful example of “outdoor mathematics” by using the theoretical formulas (here: intercept theorems) in an authentic application in the environment. To solve the problem, the students need knowledge about the intercept theorems. The task can thus be assigned to geometry and can be solved from class 9 onwards.

Date: 25. September 2017 | By: Simone Jablonski | Category:  | No Comments

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