Final answer:
To determine the length of each tube in the Willis Tower, divide the total area of the tower's footprint by the number of tubes and then take the square root. Each tube is a square with a side length of 75 feet.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student asked how to determine the length of each tube if the Willis Tower has a square footprint measuring 225 feet on each side and is comprised of 9 equal-sized square tubes. We know that the total area of the Willis Tower's base is 225 feet × 225 feet, which equals 50,625 square feet. Since there are 9 tubes, we divide the total area by 9 to find the area of a single tube, which is 50,625 square feet ÷ 9 = 5,625 square feet per tube. To find the side length of each tube, we take the square root of the area: √5,625 square feet, which gives us 75 feet. Therefore, each tube has a side length of 75 feet.
However, there seems to be a discrepancy in the provided reference, which states the dimensions of the building to be 140 ft by 100 feet. This difference seems irrelevant to the question at hand since it doesn't affect the calculation of the side length of each tube based on the given footprint of the Willis Tower.