Pendentive

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/pendentive

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the material?Typically constructed from masonry (stone or brick)
2. How does a pendentive help a dome sit on a square room?The pendentive spreads the weight of the dome to the four corner supports. This keeps the building steady and lets the dome be very big. It makes the inside feel open and tall.
3. Who built the first big building with pendentives?The famous Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was the first huge building that used pendentives. Its architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, made the dome float over the room. Emperor Justinian I asked them to build it.

Spherical Triangle: A triangle formed by the intersection of three planes passing through the center of a sphere.
Thrust: The outward force exerted by an arch or dome, which needs to be counteracted by supports.
Piers: Massive, vertical structural elements designed to support heavy loads, often used at corners or intervals.