Cuboctahedron

Tyler Knight
Evan Tarian

http://kjmaclean.com/Geometry/Cubeoctahedron.html

GAT

Mr. Acre

4 March 2015

Cuboctahedron
 Knight-Tarian 1

A cuboctahedron is a 3-dimensional shape that looks like a cube with the corners

cut off. It is an Archimedean solid. An Archimedean solid is related to a Platonic solid.

Archimedean solids are semi-regular convex polyhedron that is composed two or more

regular polygons. A cuboctahedron has 14 faces, six square and eight triangular, all

regular. It also has 12 vertices and 24 edges. At each vertex four faces meet; two

squares and two triangles. This paper will explore how to find the side lengths, the total

surface area, the volume, as well as the dimensions of the nets. Total surface area is

the area of all the faces on a 3-dimensional shape while volume is the total space that

the 3-dimensional shape takes up. Throughout the paper the measurements will be

based off the cube that the cuboctahedron would fit be congruent to if it had all of its

corners. Each edge of that cube will be 9.6 cm.

Figure 1. Base Cube

Figure 1, above, represents the cube that is being used as the base for this

paper where x equals the side length of the cube and where 1/2x equals the distance
 Knight-Tarian 2

from the end of a side to the midpoint of the cube or half of the side. Since the side

length is 9.6 cm which equals x then the distance to the midpoint must be 4.8 cm

because of 9.6 equals 4.8.

Figure 2. Finding the Side Length of a Cuboctahedron

Figure 2, above, shows a method to find the side length of a cuboctahedron.

To find the side length you have to find the distance to the midpoint, in this case

4.8 cm. After that you must have knowledge of special right triangles, also known a 45-

45-90 and 30-60-90 triangles, because you have a 45-45-90 triangle formed when you

connect the midpoints. In a 45-45-90 triangle it is possible to find the side opposite the

90 degree angle, the side missing, two ways. The first way is to use the Pythagorean

2 2 2
Theorem, a +b =c , and multiply the each side by its self and then add the

two sides up and find the square root of the number. The second way can

only happen when the two sides are the same number and then you simply

have to take the number and multiply it by the square of 2. Either way that is
 Knight-Tarian 3

chosen to find the distance the answer will be 4.82 cm. To shorten the

process it can also be found with the equation 1/2x2.

Now to find the area of the square it is a simple process. The area formula of a

square is A=BH where B equals the base and H equals the height. Since all the

2
sides of a square are the same it could also be wrote as X where X equals the side

of the square. Either way used the area of the square is 46.08 square cm.

Figure 3. How to Find the Area of the Triangle Face of the Cuboctahedron

Figure 3, above, represents a method to find the area of the triangle face of the

cuboctahedron.

Earlier, knowledge of the 45-45-90 triangles was needed to find the side lengths

of the cuboctahedrons but now knowledge of 30-60-90 triangles is needed to be able to

 Knight-Tarian 4

1
find the area. The area equation for a triangle is A= BH where B is the base and
2

H is the height. But since the height is unknown it has to be found to find the area. Since

all the sides of the cuboctahedron are equal then the triangular faces are equilateral

triangles. There are many ways to find the height of an equilateral triangle and one is to

use 30-60-90 triangles. If an equilateral triangle angle is bisected the triangle is split into

two smaller triangles each becoming a 30-60-90 triangle.

Figure 4. 30-60-90 Triangle Formed by an Angle Bisector

Figure 4, above, shows what a triangle bisecting an equilateral triangle would

look like.

Since a side of the cuboctahedron is equal to 4.82 cm and segment

AC was a side of the cuboctahedron and it remained unchanged during the

bisection, it is still equal to 4.82 cm. In 30-60-90 triangles the side opposite

the 30 degree angle can be labeled as x, the side opposite the 90 degree
 Knight-Tarian 5

angle can be labeled as 2x, and the side opposite the 60 degree angle can

be labeled as x 3 . Since 4.82 is opposite the 90 degree angle it

represents 2x and to get to x you have to divide it in half. Once you divide 2x

in half, it should be found that the length of the side opposite the 30 degree

angle equals 2.42 cm. Now to find the length of the side opposite the 60

degree angle, or the height of the equilateral triangle, you must multiply x, in

this case 2.42, by 3. Once multiplied the solution is 2.46. Now that the

height of the triangle is known it is possible to find the area of the triangle.

1
As stated earlier the area formula of a triangle is A= BH . So the equation
2

1
that would go with the cuboctahedron for this paper is A= 4.8 22.4 6 . When
2

multiplied the solution is 11.523.

Now to find the total surface add up the area of all of the faces and

that becomes the area. Since there is six square and eight triangular faces to

find the total surface area multiply the area of a single square face by six

and the area of a single triangular face by eight. The area of the square face

is 46.08 square cm. When multiplied by six it becomes 276.48 square cm.

The area of the triangular face is 11.523 and to find the area of all the

triangles multiply 11.523 by eight which equals 92.163. When added up

the total surface area of the cuboctahedron equals 276.48 square cm +

 Knight-Tarian 6

92.163 square cm. Finding the total surface area can be written in the

equation 6s+8t where s is the area of one square face and where t is the

area of one triangular face.

Finding the volume and nets can be represented in three different cases which

for this paper will be represented as Case 1, Case 2, and Case 3 respectively.

Case 1 is finding the dimensions of the net of a corner pyramid of a

cuboctahedron. Since the cuboctahedron is a cube with the corners cut off from the

midpoints of the edges. The corner pyramid is part of the cube that was cut off.

Figure 6. The Corner Pyramid of the Cuboctahedron

Figure 6, above, is an enlarged view of the corner pyramid.

To find the lengths of all the sides of the corner pyramid the process is

quite simple. The line connecting the midpoints is known to be a side of the

cuboctahedron which has a length of 4.82. All segments with a dash

through them in the figure above are equal to 4.82. All the segments

remaining in the corner pyramid are equal to the length of the distance from

the end of the edge to the midpoint which equals 4.8. This makes the corner
 Knight-Tarian 7

peace a pyramid with an equilateral triangle base and three isosceles

triangle faces.

Figure 7. Corner Pyramid with Measurements

Figure 7, above, shows the corner pyramid cut off the cube.

Now, to find the volume of corner pyramid the volume formula of a

pyramid is needed. The volume formula for pyramids is area of the base *

height * 1/3. Since the area of the base is the triangular face of the

cuboctahedron so the area of the base is 11.523.

Now, to find the volume of corner pyramid the volume formula of a pyramid is

needed. The volume formula for pyramids is area of the base * height * 1/3. The height

is usually the most difficult thing to find in the volume formula. To get the height, the

easiest thing to do is to turn the pyramid on the side. While this will give it a new base,

the height will be much simpler to find. The height of the pyramid would be 4.8. The

base of the pyramid would be (b)(h). Substituted, this would be 1/2(4.8)(4.8). The

area of the base is 11.52 cm2. So, 1/3(11.52)*(4.8) is 18.432 cm3. Since a cube has 8

corners, multiply this number by 8. This should come up to be 147.456 cm3. Now, since
 Knight-Tarian 8

this is the area of just the corners that were cut off, the volume of the cube (884.736)

must be found. Finally, subtract the volume of the pyramid from the volume of the cube.

The end volume should be 737.28.

Case two was a little more difficult. For case two, there is a rectangular

prism and a pyramid with a rectangular base. For the rectangular prism, the

first thing that is needed is the size of the longer sides. This was the

simplest part, with it just being the side length of the cube the

cuboctahedron. For this example the length is 9.6 cm. Next, the length of

the shorter sides is needed. Since these are the square faces of the

cuboctahedron, these need to be the same length of them. As mentioned in

case one, the sides of the square faces are 4.82 cm. This is found because

of the 45-45-90 triangle rule. Since the volume formula for a prism is

Base*Width*Height, the volume of the prism is 4.82*4.82*9.6, or 442.368

cm3.
 Knight-Tarian 9

Figure 8. Rectangular Prisim

Figure 8, above, shows the rectangular prism and the rectangular pyramid.

For the second part of case two, the rectangular pyramid, the equation

is a bit more difficult. Since the pyramid must fit on the longer side of the

prism, the rectangle base has measurements of 9.6 cm on the long sides and

4.82 cm on the shorter sides. Next the side lengths of the triangles of the

pyramid are needed. Since two of the triangles combined will create a

square, they must have a side length of 4.82 cm. However, the volume

formula for a pyramid is 1/3(area of base) (Height of pyramid). The height of

the pyramid can be fairly difficult to find. The first thing that is needed is the

slant height of the pyramid, also known as the height of the triangle. To do

this, split the equilateral triangle (the one on the smaller base) into two 30-

60-90 triangles. 30-60-90 triangles are special right triangles. The rule with

30-60-90 triangles is that the hypotenuse is 2x, the smallest leg is x, and the

longer leg is x3. Each right triangle will then have a base of 2.42 cm. The

height of the right triangles, and the equilateral triangles, will be 2.46 cm

according the 30-60-90 triangle rule. The next thing that is needed for the

height of the pyramid is the distance from the equilateral triangle to the

middle of the rectangular base. This will be 4.8 cm because 4.8 is one half of

9.6. The final step in finding the height of the pyramid is to find the actual

height. To do this, use the Pythagorean Theorem in reverse. Instead of a2

+b2=c2, this problem requires c2-b2=a2 because the hypotenuse and one leg has

been found. So, plugging the numbers into the equation, the equation ends
 Knight-Tarian 10

up being 2.462-4.82=a2. After simplifying the equation, the new numbers are 34.56-

23.04=a2. Simplified again it is 11.52=a2, and then 11.52=a, the height. The

11.52 is equivalent to 2.42. So, finally, time to find the volume of the

pyramid. 1/3(area of base) (Height of pyramid) = 1/3(46.082) (2.42)=

73.728 cm3. So, the volume of the cuboctahedron is 4(volume of pyramid) + (Volume

of prism) or 4(73.728)+(442.368). So, the total volume of the cuboctahedron is 737.28

cm3, the same as in case 1.

Case three is another way of finding the volume of a cuboctahedron.

In this method, eight tetrahedrons and six square pyramids are used. The

volume for a tetrahedron is, since it is technically a pyramid, 1/3(area of

base) (Height). The side length for a tetrahedron is, as it is for all triangular

face sides, 4.82 cm. Since it is a tetrahedron, all side lengths are 4.82 cm.

So, like what was done in case 2, the height of the tetrahedron is needed.

So, given an equilateral triangle from the tetrahedron, divide that into 2

equal 30-60-90 triangles. As stated before, the base for each right triangle

will be 2.42 cm. Also, as in the previous case, the slant height of the

tetrahedron is 2.46 cm. Once again, the height of the pyramid must be

determined. However, for the height of a tetrahedron, instead of finding the

midpoint of the pyramid, the 2/3 point must be found. So, 2/3 of 2.46 is

1.66 cm. The reason the midpoint of the tetrahedron cannot be used for

the height is because the apex is not directly above the center. Like what

was done in case two, the Pythagorean Theorem must be used in reverse.

So, c2-b2=a2, or 4.822-1.662=a2. Simplified, the answer is 30.72=a2. So, the

 Knight-Tarian 11

height of the tetrahedron is 30.72, or 3.23 cm. The volume of one

tetrahedron is 1/3(1/2(b)(h)) (height), which is 1/3(2.42*2.46) (3.23).

Simplified, this is 1/3(5.7312) (3.23). Simplified a 3rd time, it is (1.9112)

(3.23). Finally, the volume of 1 tetrahedron is 36.672 cm3.

Figure 9. Case 3 Shapes

Figure 9, above, shows the tetrahedron and square pyramid of case 3.
As in the rest of the cases, the side length of the square is 4.82 cm. The

triangles that make up the sides of the pyramid also have side lengths of

4.82 cm because they are equilateral triangles that share one side with the

square, which has side lengths of 4.82 cm. As in the rest of the pyramid

volumes, the slant height of the pyramid is needed. So, as in the other

pyramid problems, the slant height is 2.46 cm. It is 2.42cm because of

the 30-60-90 triangle rule after splitting it from the equilateral triangles. The

midpoint of the pyramid is 2.42, half of the side length of 4.82. Now that

all required elements for the height of the pyramid are present, the height

can be found. So, the height of the pyramid is 4.8. Since the slant height was

2.46, and the midpoint was 2.42, the height is 2.44, or 4.8. The volume

of the pyramid is 1/3(46.08) (4.8). The volume is 73.728 cm3. Now, to find the

volume of the cuboctahedron, find the volume of the tetrahedron and square pyramid,

and multiply by the number of figures needed. What that means is 8(36.672)+6(73.728)
 Knight-Tarian 12

which simplified is 442.368+294.912=737.28 cm 3.

In conclusion, the cuboctahedron is an interesting shape. Who knew that just

cutting off the corners of a cube can make a completely different shape? The reason

that the volume is all ways the same is because no matter which case is used to find the

volume in the end the shape measured will always be the same. Finding the new

measurements for the cuboctahedron can be difficult but hopefully this paper helps to

clear any issues up.

 Knight-Tarian 13

Works Cited

"Cuboctahedron." -- from Wolfram MathWorld. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

<http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Cuboctahedron.html>.

"The Cube Octahedron." The Cube Octahedron. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

<http://kjmaclean.com/Geometry/Cubeoctahedron.html>.

"The Cube, Octahedron, and Cuboctahedron." Cuboctahedron. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

<http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/~sudzi/polyhedra/archimedean/cubocta.html>.