Cubo-Octahedron

Johanna Lund and Yana Pasinos

Geometry Algebra and Transformations

Mr. Acre
4 March 2015

Lund - Pasinos 2

Cubo-Octahedron
What is a Cubo-Octahedron? This word is not used in everyday language and
conversations. In fact, most people will never hear it in their life! The
cubo-octahedron is a 3-dimensional cube that has had each of its corners cut off.
From another perspective, the cubo-octahedron is a polyhedron composed of eight
triangles and six squares that have congruent edge length. The cubo-octahedron has
twelve vertices that at each, meet two squares and two triangles. The
cubo-octahedron used in the following cases will have originated from a cube with a
side length of 21.6 centimeters. The most basic way to finding the volume of a
cubo-octahedron is by taking the volume of the cube it originated from, which is this
case 21.6 cm*21.6 cm*21.6 cm, and subtracting the volume of the eight corner
pieces. Two other great ways to calculate the volume are to treat the
cubo-octahedron as being composed of four rectangular pyramids and one
rectangular prism, or as eight tetrahedrons and six square pyramids. As was
mentioned earlier, the cubo-octahedron is made up of eight triangles and four
squares that all have an equal side length, so the surface area of the
cubo-octahedron can be found using the following equation: (area of 1 triangular
face * 8) + (area of 1 square face * 4). Numerals used to solve for both the volume
and the surface area of the cubo-octahedron can only be acquired once the edge
length is calculated.

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Case #1
Midpoints of the adjacent sides of the 21.6 cm*21.6 cm*21.6 cm cube were
connected to form planes at which the corner pieces were disconnected. Because all
sides of a cube are congruent, it can therefore be justified that the eight corner
pieces that were separated from the cube are congruent and have the same volume.

Figure 1. Measurements of the Cubo-Octahedron

Figure one shows that when given just the length of one edge of the original
cube, many other measurements can be detected. Such as, the segment hightlighted
in red was computed to be 10.8 cm because point Y is a midpoint of segment XZ and
half of 21.6 cm is equal to 10.8 cm. Segments WX and XY are congruent to each
other and meet at a 90* angle due to the properties of a cube.
With the presence of a right triangle, the Pythagorean and Theorem was used
to find the length of WY, which is also the length of each edge on the
cubo-octahedron.

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2 2 2
a
+ b= c
2
2 2
10.8
+10.8
=c
2
233.38 =c

15.273506cm=c

Figure 2. Using the Pythagorean and Theorem to Find Edge Length

Figure 2, above, shows the process in which the Pythagorean and Theorem
was used to find side length WY, which in the equation, is represented by variable C.
Variables A and B in the equation represent the legs of the right triangle. Through
observation, it is seen that variables A and B represent the same numeral because
2
2
2
legs WX and XY are congruent. 10.8
+ 10.8
= 233.28 = C
. To get C alone, the

square root of 233.28 is taken leaving C= 15.273506. As was mentioned earlier,

variable c represents the length of not only segment WY but the length of every edge
in the cubo-octahedron.

Figure 3. One Square Face of the Cubo-Octahedron

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Figure 3, above, is one of the six square faces on the cubo-octahedron. The
square face is made up of four edges. Therefore, each side of the square is
15.273506 centimeters.

Area= base * height

Area= 15.273506 cm * 15.273506 cm
Area= 233.28 cm^2

Figure 4. Area of one Square Face

Figure 4, above, is the step by step process by which the area of one square
face was obtained. The area formula for a parallelogram is Area= base * height. A
square is a parallelogram because it has two pairs of parallel sides made possible by
four congruent 90* angles. The base of the square is 15.273506 cm and the height is
15.273506 cm. By substituting these two numbers in the area formula, it can be
concluded that the area of the square is 233.28 cm^2 because 15.273506 cm *
2
15.273506 cm = 233.28 cm
.

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Figure 5. Measurement of a Triangle Face

Figure 5, above, is one of the eight triangular faces of the cubo-octahedron.
As was calculated earlier, each edge is 15.273506 cm. Because each edge of this
triangle is congruent, it can be said that figure 5 is an equilateral triangle. All three
angles of the triangle are 60*, for all angles of a triangle add up to 180* and in this
case, the angles are congruent. When an an altitude is drawn from one point of the
triangle to the opposite side, it divides the triangle into two 30-60-90 triangles.

Figure 6. 30-60-90 Application

Figure 6, above, shows that when given the hypotenuse of a 30-60-90
triangle, the other two legs can be found. The hypotenuse is 15.273506 cm. When
the hypotenuse is divided by two, the base leg is found to be 7.636753 cm. The
length of the other leg can be found by multiplying the base of the 30-60-90 triangle
by the square root of three. Equation form: height= 7.636753 cm * 3 = 13.227245
cm.

A
= (b * h)
triangle

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Area of triangle= (base * height)

A
= (15.273506 cm * 13.227245 cm)
triangle
2
A
= (202.026406 cm
)
triangle
2
A
= 101.013203 cm
triangle

Figure 7. Area of one Triangular Face

Figure 7, above shows how to get the area of one triangular face in a step by
step process. The formula for a parallelogram is obtained for this process, but it gets
multiplied by half. When creating a parallelogram, you may use two triangles to
make it up. Meaning to say, to get the area of one triangular face, use the
parallelogram formula which is b*h and multiply it by to get (b*h). As shown in
figure 6, the height of a triangular face is found by using the 30-60-90 triangle
theorem which results to 13.227245 cm. The base is one of the edges which is
15.273506 cm. Using substitution, 15.273506 cm and 13.227245 cm are plugged
into the equation to find the area of a triangle: area of triangle face= (15.273506
cm * 13.227245 cm) = 101.013203cm.

Surface Area= (area of 1 square face * 6) + (area of 1 triangular face * 8)

2
2
Surface Area= (233.28 cm
* 6) + (101.013203 cm
* 8)

Surface Area= (1399.68) + (808.105625)

2
Surface Area= 2207.785625 cm

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Figure 8. Finding the Surface Area of the Cubo-Octahedron

Figure 8, above, shows the step by step process by which the surface area of
the cubo-octahedron was obtained using substitution. Earlier, the surface areas for
one square face and one triangular face of the cubo-octahedron were calculated.
These numbers were plugged into the equation above. The reason the area of one
square face was multiplied by six and the area of one triangular face was multiplied
by eight was because the cubo-octahedron is composed of six square faces and eight
triangular faces.

Figure 9. Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid

Figure 9, above, shows the Isosceles right triangle pyramid which is also
known as the corner piece. In this figure all the sides which are labeled s are
congruent.

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Figure 10. Net of Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid

Figure 10, above, is the laid out net for the Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid.
All corresponding side lengths have been labeled. It can be observed that the three
isosceles right triangles are congruent to each other. Not only that, each isosceles
right triangle shares a side with the inner equilateral triangle.

Figure 11. Base and Height of Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid.

Figure 11, above, points out the sides of the Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid
that are used to find the volume of the Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid which will
eventually be used to calculate the volume of the entire cubo-octahedron. The two
sides that are highlighted pink are used to find the base of the Isosceles Right
2
2
2
Triangle Pyramid. Area of base = (10.8cm
* 10.8cm
)= (116.64cm
)=

58.32cm^2. The segment that is highlighted yellow is used as the height for the
Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid. Height= 10.8cm.

Volume of Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid= (area of base * height)

V of IRTP= (B * h)
2
V of IRTP= (58.32cm
* 10.8cm)

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3
V of IRTP= (629.856cm
)
3
V of IRTP= 209.952cm

Figure 12. Volume of Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid

Figure 12, above, shows the process through which the volume of the
Isosceles Right Triangle Pyramid was acquired. The area of the base and the height
were previously determined and were substituted into the volume equation for a
3
pyramid leading to find 209.952cm
as the volume of the Isosceles Right Triangle

Pyramid which is also the corner piece.

Volume of Cubo-Octahedron =( volume of cube) - (volume of 1 corner piece * 8)
3
V of Cubo= (21.6cm * 21.6cm * 21.6cm) - (209.952cm
* 8)
3
3
V of Cubo= (10,077.696cm
) - (1679.616cm
)
3
V of Cubo= 8398.08cm

Figure 13. Volume of Cubo-Octahedron- Method #1

Figure 13, above, shows how to find the volume of the cubo-octahedron. Find
the volume of the cube by cubing the length of the cube. In this case 21.6 cm will be
3
cubed to find that the volume of the cube is 10,077.696cm
. Find the volume of one

corner piece and multiply it by 8. As shown in Figure 12, the volume of one corner
3
piece was found, which was 209.952cm
. Using that volume, multiply it by 8 and find
3
that the result is 1679.616cm
. Using all those numbers, get the volume of the cube

and subtract it to the volume of one corner piece multiplied by 8 and get the final
3
result which would be the volume of the cubo. In this case, get 10,077.696cm
and

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3
subtract it to
1679.616cm
to find that the volume of the cubo-octahedron is
3
8398.08cm
.

Case #2

Figure 14. Measurements of Square Prism and Rectangular Pyramid

Figure 14, above, shows the inner square prism of the cubo-octahedron and
one of four rectangular pyramids. All sides of the square face of the square prism
are 15.273506 because each side of the square is a hypotenuse of the isosceles right
triangle that had a measurement of 10.8cm for both of its legs. The height of the
square prism is 21.6cm, for 21.6 is the height of the original cube. Through
observation, the long sides of the base of the rectangular pyramid are also 21.6cm
because the height of the base is the height of the original cube. All other sides of
the rectangular pyramid including the short sides of its base are 15.273506cm
because they are edges on the cubo-octahedron.

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Figure 15. Area of Base and the Height for Square Prism and Rectangular Pyramid
Figure 15, above, highlights the faces, edges, and heights that will be used to
find the volume of the square prism and the rectangular pyramid.
The area of the square base that is highlighted in figure 15 in purple=
2
15.273506cm * 15.273506cm= 233.28cm
, for the area formula for a square is area=

base * height. The height of the square pyramid, shown in yellow, is 21.6cm. The
area of the base of the rectangular pyramid, shown in green, is equal to
2
15.273506cm * 21.6cm which is 329.90774cm
because the area formula for a

rectangle is also area= base * height. The height of the rectangular pyramid will be
obtained in the following figure. The measurements just calculated for the square
prism and rectangular pyramid will be used to find the volume of each which will
later serve to find the volume of the cubo-octahedron using a second method.

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Figure 16. Height of Rectangular Pyramid

Figure 16, above shows the rectangular pyramid lying on its base with the
height drawn in. The altitude of one of the triangular sides is drawn in and is
13.227245 cm, for the height of an equilateral triangle with 15.273506cm sides was
already calculated in figure 6. The base of the red triangle drawn in figure 16 is
equal to half of 21.6 which is 10.8. Using these calculations, the height of the
rectangular pyramid can be found using the pythagorean and theorem.

2 2 2
a
+ b
= c
2 2
2
(10.8)
+ b
= (13.227245)
2
116.64 + b
= 174.96
2
b
= 58.32

b= 7.636753cm

Figure 17. Height of the Pyramid

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Figure 17, above, shows how to find the height of the rectangular pyramid
using the pythagorean theorem. Get half of the width of the base to find the height
b. To get c you would simply take the slant height.

Figure 18. Volume of Rectangular Pyramid

Figure 18, above, shows all measurements needed to find the volume of the
rectangular pyramid. The equation to find the volume of a pyramid is (area of
2
Base * height). The area of the base was already found to be 329.90774cm
in figure

15. The height was calculated to be 7.636753cm in figure 17 using the pythagorean
and theorem. With substitution, the volume of the rectangular pyramid is as
2
follows: (area of base * height) = (329.90774cm
* 7.636753cm)=
3
3
(2519.424cm
)=839.808 cm
.

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Figure 19. Volume of Square Prism

Figure 19, above, contains all the measurements needed to find the volume of
the square prism. The volume formula for a prism is (area of base * height). The
2
area of the square base was already found to be 233.28cm
in figure 15. The height

was also found in figure 15 to be 21.6cm. Using substitution, the volume of the
2
square prism is as follows: Area of base * height= 233.28cm
* 21.6cm=
3
5038.848cm
.

Volume of Cubo-Octahedron= (volume of 1 rectangular pyramid * 4) + (volume of

square prism)
3
3
V of Cubo= (839.808 cm
* 4) + (5038.848cm
)
3
V of Cubo= (3359.232) + (5038.848cm
)
3
V of Cubo= 8398.08cm

Figure 20. Volume of Cubo-Octahedron-Method #2

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Figure 20, above, is the process by which the volumes of the rectangular
pyramid and square prism are used to find the volume of the entire
cubo-octahedron. The reason the volume of the rectangular pyramid was multiplied
by four was because there are four rectangular pyramids in a cubo-octahedron. On
the other hand, the volume of the of the square pyramid was not multiplied by any
factor because there is only one square pyramid in the the cubo-octahedron.
Although the method used to obtain the volume of the cubo-octahedron was
different than that use in figure 13 the final answer was the same.

Case #3

Figure 21. Dimensions of the Tetrahedron

Figure 21 shows the measurements of the tetrahedron, which includes the
slant height, the edge lengths, and the height of the tetrahedron. Using the 30-60-90
triangle theorem, the slant height of one triangular side was found to be
13.227244cm. The height of the tetrahedron was found using the pythagorean and
theorem.

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2 2 2
a
+ b
= c
2 2
(4.409081)
+ b
= 13.227244
2
19.439998 + b
= 174.959986
2
b
= 155.519987

b= 12.470765cm

Figure 22. Height of Tetrahedron

Figure 22, above, shows the process by which the pythagorean and theorem
was used to fight the height of the tetrahedron. Variable a was substituted with
4.409081cm, for 4.409081cm is one third of 13.227244cm. This calculation was
conducted because the height of the tetrahedron intersects the base at one third of
the altitude. The altitude of the base was 13.227244cm. Overall, the height of the
tetrahedron was computed to be 12.470765cm.

Area of the base of Tetrahedron= (base * height)

A of b of T= (b * h)
A of b of T= (15.273506 * 13.227244)
A of b of T= (202.026392)
2
A of b of T= 101.013196cm

Figure 23. Area of the base of the Tetrahedron

Figure 23, above, is a visual representation of the process by which the area
of the base of the tetrahedron was calculated. 15.273506cm was used as the base

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because that is the length of every side of the tetrahedron. 13.227244cm was used
as the height when solving for the area of the base, for 13.227244cm was already
determined to be the height of an equilateral triangle with a side length of
15.273506cm in figure 6. When the equation was finally reduced to its simplest
2
form, the area of the base of the tetrahedron was discovered to be 101.013195cm
.

Volume of Tetrahedron= (area of base * height of tetrahedron)

V of T= (B * h)
2
V of T= (101.013195cm
* 12.470765cm)
3
V of T= (1259.711845cm
)
3
V of T= 419.903948cm

Figure 24. Volume of the tetrahedron

Figure 24, above, in a step by step process through which the volume of the
tetrahedron is obtained. The volume formula for a pyramid is (area of base *
height of tetrahedron). Get area of the base, as shown in Figure 23, and multiply it
by the height which is shown in Figure 22. Multiply that overall by .

Figure 25. Dimensions of the Square Pyramid

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Figure 25, shows the measurements of the square pyramid, which include
the edge lengths and the height of the square pyramid. The edge lengths were
appointed to be 15.273506cm because the square pyramid shares an edge with the
tetrahedron. 10.8cm was found to be the height because if two square pyramids
were to be stacked on top of each other, they would be equal to the height of the
cubo-octahedron which is 21.6cm. 21.6cm/2= 10.8 cm.

Area of base of Square Pyramid=(base *

height)
A of SP= b* h
A of SP= 15.273506 * 15.273506
2
A of SP= 233.279986cm

Figure 26. Area of the base of the Square Pyramid

Figure 26, above, is the step by step process by which the area of the base of
the square pyramid is obtained. 15.273506cm was used as the base and the height
because in a situation where there is a square, all sides are congruent.

Volume of Square Pyramid=(area of base * height)

V of SP= (233.279986 * 10.8)
V of SP= (2519.423844)
3
V of SP= 839.807948 cm

Figure 27. Volume of Square Pyramid

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Figure 27, above shows the complete process to find the volume of a square
pyramid. Take the area of the base and multiply it by the height. As shown in Figure
26, the area of the base for this particular 3-D figure is 233.279986 cm. The height
for this pyramid is 10.8. Multiply those two numbers and multiply that quantity by
3
. In this case, the volume would end up being 839.807948 cm
.

Volume of Cubo-Octahedron= (volume of square pyramid*6) + (volume of

tetrahedron*8)
3
3
V of Cubo= (839.807948cm
* 6) + (419.903948cm
* 8)
3
3
V of Cubo= (5038.847688cm
) + (3359.231584I cm
)
3
V of Cubo= 8398.08cm

Figure 28. Volume of Cubo-Octahedron- Method #3

Figure 28, above is the process by which the volumes of the tetrahedron and
square pyramid pyramid were used to find the volume of the entire
cubo-octahedron. The reason the volume of the square pyramid was multiplied by
six was because there are six square pyramids in a cubo-octahedron. In addition,
the reason the volume of the tetrahedron was multiplied by a factor of eight was due
to the fact that there are a total of eight tetrahedrons in a cubo-octahedron.
Although the method used to obtain the volume of the cubo-octahedron was
different than those used case #1 and #2, the answer was the same.

In the beginning, there were some miscalculations due to a few

misunderstandings of concepts needed to carry out the cubo-octahedron project.

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With time and effort, these mistakes were cleared up. The cubo-octahedron is a
complex 3-dimensional shape made up of many smaller but different 3D shapes
such as one square prism and four rectangular pyramids or eight tetrahedrons and
six square pyramids. Because of this variation, different methods can used to
calculate the volume of the the same cubo-octahedron. Three different methods of
calculating the volume were shown. Although each method was diverse, they each
produced the same answer because the edge length is the same. This goes on to
prove that there is not just one way of carrying out a process but many. In some
cases, infinitely many.