Finding the surface area of a lego mini figure

Introduction:

I’ve always been fascinated with making toys. Most toys I know have these complex figures, one

of them being legos. Lego minifigures, although simple, have these complex measurements in

the limbs. You could write a whole analysis of the area and volume of certain lego pieces, but for

the sake of this assessment, It will only be based on the Lego Minifigure.

Aim:The goal of this assessment to find the area of Lego mini figure

- Use geometry to find the simple 2D and 3D shapes to find the areas of the legs, chest,

hands and head

Assumptions:

With mathematical models, assumptions are acknowledged to know what are the measurements

used

- I’ll be using both my online (Sources at the end) and in real life figures. However, for

accuracy, we will begin using real life measurements to avoid

- Those unknown distances I will be using my own measurements

- For the purpose of this project, I won’t be including the arms due to having complex

calculus.
Process

LEGO minifigures are made up of basic geometric shapes like rectangles, squares, circles, and

sometimes irregular shapes. Break down the minifigure into these simple shapes, such as a

rectangular body, cylindrical head, and cylindrical arms. Calculate the area of each shape using

the appropriate formulas. For example: - Rectangle: Area = length × width - Square: Area = side

length × side length - Circle: Area = π × radius^2 For irregular shapes, more advanced

techniques like approximation or integration may be necessary. Total up the areas of each shape

to find the overall area of the LEGO minifigure.

Chest/Middle Part:

1. Frontal and Back

To find the area of this trapezoid:

By measuring, we get the following numbers, which would give us this

Which would give the following result:

We know that the surface area of the frontal chest body would give us 1.75 Cm

However, this figurine has both identical back and frontal areas. Which mean to we can multiply

by two to find the area of both of these areas:

Finally, this means that the we find both of those surface areas combined would give us 3.5 Cm

2. Side parts of the chest

The areas of the side are both rectangles, we would need to find the area of rectangles. Again the

b and h are the base and height of the shape. By multiplying, this would give us the area of

shape.
By measuring both the h and b, it would give us the following values: it would give us this:

Knowing that this is two sides we multiply by two, which would give us the following values:

However, there are holes that are for the arms. Those are circles which we can find with the

following values:

The knowing the radius of the holes we can find the area of those circles, which is the following:

By calculating, it would give us the following:

Due to those holes using space, we would need to subtract these by the area of the rectangles of

they didn’t have holes, which would give us the following:

By approximation, this would mean that the area of the sides would give us 1.8cm
 Area of the head

When dealing with a cylinder, the surface area can be calculated using the formula A=2πr^2 +

2πrh, where r is the radius of the circular base and h is the height of the cylinder.

By using that calculation and knowing that the value of the radius and the height is:

It would give us the following result:

- top and bottom (neck and upper head)

For finding the area of the top and bottom (neck and upper head) it would be the formula of

finding a cylinder as well:

For the upper part it is a circle with a big hole inside, which are both cylinders. The formula for

those shapes are known.

By knowing the shape of the cylinder (with the hole), it would give us the following values:

Calculating this, it would give us the following value:

However, we need to find the value of the hole as well, in which the value of those holes are the

following:
By subtracting and approximating these values, we get the following results:

- Area of the pants:

1. Bottom parts of the pants:

The bottom parts of the pants are squares, however it has another square hole beneath that one.

The area of a square is the following:

We know that area (with the hole) will give us the following value:

The result will be the following:

However, there is another hole in between those two, this would mean we need to find the value

of the hole. The shape of the hole is a square, so we can use the following formula:

Which would give us the following result:

By subtracting these value we get the following result:

Giving us the result of 0.45cm

2. Area of the sides:

The area of the sides is a bit more complicated, because it involves the weird shape of both

circles and rectangles:

The first rectangle is the part of the bottom of the pants:

Which would give us the following result:

The area of the rectangle is the following:

It would be giving us the following value:

By calculating this it would give us the following result:

Which would be the following:

The following value of a circle would be the following:

The value of the radius would be:

The following would be the result:

By summing all these values, it would give us the following:

Giving us the result of 2.33cm

3. Back of the pants:

The back of the pants would be a rectangle, which would give us the following values:

Which is the following results:

By calculating: it would give us the following results:

There are two pants, which means we would need to multiply by two:

However, just like in the upper body, there are two holes, those two holes give us the following

result.

The radius gives us this value:

By calculating this, it would give us this value:

There four holes however, so we would need to multiply by 4:

By subtracting these values, it would give us the following:

The final result would be 1.21cm

4. The frontal area:

This time, it is multiple rectangles and the part of a circle:

For the rectangles: it would be the following values:

By calculating, and knowing that one is just the same shape, we get the following result:

Which would give us the final result of:

The final result would give us the following result of 1.04cm

- Final result
By adding these values, we get the following result

1.21cm+2.33cm+0.45cm+6.6cm+1.8cm+3.5cm

Conclusion:

In conclusion, zoning Lego miniatures acts as a fun exercise combining mathematical concepts

with real-world objects. With careful measurements and calculations, we can reveal a close

relationship between geometry and play. this research provides valuable insights into practical

applications in various mathematical contexts, enhancing interest and exploratory thinking.

While unlocking the geometric nature of LEGO miniatures it is not like we not only increase our

understanding of spatial meaning but also show the beauty of mathematics in everyday life.

Exploring the world of LEGO miniatures for educational or entertainment purposes capture the

exploratory and discovery spirit of mathematical analysis

References: