How Many LEGO Bricks Are Needed to Make the Great Pyramids of

How Many LEGO Bricks Are Needed to Make the Great
Pyramids of Giza and Cholula?
Pyramids are interesting structures, but they also
deceive the eye. Usually we are impressed by the
pyramid’s height, but at the same time our vision
underestimates the pyramid’s volume. There are two
important factors that define the volume of a
pyramid: its height and its base, which we assume
square.
The formula for the volume 𝑉 of a pyramid is:
𝑉=
𝑙𝑤ℎ
3
where 𝑙 is the length of the base, 𝑤 is the width of
the base, and ℎ is the pyramid’s height.
The height of the pyramid of Giza, in Egypt, is 138.8
meters (455.4 ft.) and each base side is 230.4 meters
(755.9 ft.) long.
Suppose we use the tiny simple square LEGO brick of (𝑙 ×
𝑤 × ℎ): 5/16 in x 5/16 in x 3/8 in (0.8 cm x 0.8 cm x 1 cm,
rounded). Then, with 10,000 LEGO unit bricks placed one
next to the other we can make a row of 80 m (262.5 ft.)
long.
For the pyramid of Giza, to make a 230.4 m long side base
we need 2.88 x 10,000 = 28,800 unitary LEGO bricks. This
pyramid will be 13,880 bricks tall.
For the pyramid of Cholula, to make a 450 m long side base
we need 5.625 x 10,000 = 56,250 unit bricks. This pyramid
will be 6,600 bricks tall.
The volume of the pyramid of Giza is
230.4 × 230.4 × 138.8
= 2,456,027.1m3
3
The volume of the pyramid of Cholula is
450 × 450 × 66
= 4,455,000m3
3
The height of the pyramid of Cholula, in Mexico, is a
mere 66 meters (215.5 ft.), but each base side is an
impressive 450 meters (1476.4 ft.) long.
There are 1003 cubic centimetre per each cubic meter,
and the unitary LEGO brick is 0.64cm3; hence,
we need: 2,456,027.1 x 1003 x 0.64 ≈ 1.57 x 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟐 bricks
to replicate the pyramid of Giza, and
we need: 4,455,000 x 1003 x 0.64 ≈ 2.85 x 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟐 bricks to
replicate the pyramid of Cholula.
Flinders Petrie (1853-1942).
English Egyptologist and a
pioneer of systematic
methodology in archaeology.
He made the first precision
measurements of the Great
Pyramid of Giza.
Reference: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Comparison_of_pyramids_SMIL.svg
© E. Perez http://4DLab.info