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Cubes from Origami

Cubes are a part of everyday life. They can be made with simple
origami. With this way of folding pieces of paper to make cubes, a cube in a
cube could be produced! Figuring out the math behind the cubes from
origami will be the goal, like the total surface area and volume.

Figure 1. Step 1

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Start with six pieces of paper folded as directed for the inner cube.

Figure 2. Step 2
Stick triangle connectors into the pocket.

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Figure 3. Step 3
Fit two triangle connectors into each pocket to make four triangles.

Figure 4. Step 4
Continue to fit two connectors into each piece.

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Figure 5. Step 5
The inner cube is now complete.

Figure 6. Step 6
Start the outer cube with twelve pieces of paper folded as directed.

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Figure 7. Step 7
Insert the thin triangular edge into the triangle pocket.

Figure 8. Step 8
Add another piece of folded paper by using its triangular pocket to
insert the edge of the first piece.

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Figure 9. Step 9
Make sure the edges are crisp so the cube can stand.

Figure 10. Step 10

Continue to insert edges into pockets.

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Figure 11. Step 11

The cube in a cube is now completed.
Lengths of the Inner and Outer Cube

Figure 12. Outer Cube Side Lengths

In this figure, the side lengths of the outer cube are found.

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Figure 13. Inner Cube Side Lengths

In Figure 13, the side lengths of the inner cube are shown.
Finding the Surface Area of the Outer Cube
SA= 6 s2

Formula for the Surface Area of a Cube

SA= 6 (32)2

Substitution Property of Equality

SA= 108 inches2

Multiplication Property of Equality

Figure 14. Surface Area of Outer Cube (Without Subtracting Empty Space)
This table shows how to find the area of the cube that was made. The
empty space inside the cube was not subtracted.
SA= 6 s2

Formula for the Surface Area of a Cube

SA= 6 (1/462)2

Substitution Property of Equality

SA= 6 (9/2)

Multiplication Property of Equality

SA= 27 inches2
Figure 15. Surface Area of the Hole

Multiplication Property of Equality

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The table from Figure 13 shows how to find the area of the hole in
the outer cube.
SACube= SAOutercube - SAHole

Surface Area Formula for Cube

without Space
SACube= 108- 27

Substitution Property of Equality

SACube= 81 inches2

Subtraction Property of Equality

Figure 16. Surface Area of the Outer Cube

This figure shows how to find the outer cubes total surface area.
SA= 6 s2

Formula for the Surface Area of a Cube

SA= 6 (1/462)2

Substitution Property of Equality

SA= 6 (9/2)

Multiplication Property of Equality

SA= 27 inches2

Multiplication Property of Equality

Figure 17. Surface Area of the Inner Cube

The figure above shows how to find the total surface area of the inner
cube.
TSA= SAInnerCube + SAOuterCube

Total Surface Area Formula

TSA= 27 + 81

Substitution Property of Equality

TSA= 108 inches2

Addition Property of Equality

Figure 18. Total Surface Area of a Cube in a Cube

This figure shows how to calculate the final total surface area of the
whole cube in a cube.

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Finding the total surface area of a cube in a cube could be quite a
hassle. A lot of patience and thinking is required to find it. The first step is to
find the surface area of the outer cube without subtracting the empty space,
which is shown in Figure 14. Then, the area of the hole in the outer cube
should be found, displayed in Figure 15. Next, subtracting the hole from
the total surface area will result in the surface area of the outer cube, as
shown in Figure 16. Then, the surface area of the inner cube is found, which
is shown in Figure 17. Finally, the total surface area of the cube in a cube is
calculated by adding the surface areas of the outer cube and inner cube
together. This means that the total surface area of the cube in a cube is 108
inches2.
Volume of the Cube in a Cube
Volume (V) = s3

Formula for Volume of a Cube

V= (61/42)3
V= 27/4(2)

Substitution Property of Equality

Multiplication Property of Equality

V= 27/4(2) inches3

Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 19. Volume of the Inner Cube

In Figure 19, the method to find the volume of the inner cube is shown.
The first step is to find the length of the side, which is key to find the volume.
The length of the cube is 1.52 inches. Now, to find the volume, the formula
side3 is used. Figure 19 provides the steps to do this. The volume of the
inner cube is 27/4(2) inches3.

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V= s3

Formula for Volume of a Cube

V= (61/22)3

Substitution Property of Equality

V= 542

Multiplication Property of Equality

V= 542 inches3

Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 20. Volume of the Outer Cube

This figure displays how to find the volume of the outer cube.

VOuterCube - VInnerCube = Total Volume (TV)

Formula for Total Volume

TV= 542 - 27/4(2)

Substitution Property of Equality

TV= 189/4(2)

Subtraction Property of Equality

TV= 189/4(2) inches3

Symmetric Property of Equality

Figure 21. Total Volume of the Cube in a Cube

The volume of the cube in a cube as a whole is demonstrated above.
Following the steps in order is key when calculating volume. First, the
volume of the inner cube is found, which is shown in Figure 19. Then, the
outer cubes volume is found, displayed in Figure 20. Finally, the volume of
the inner cube is subtracted from the outer cube to find the total volume,
demonstrated in Figure 21. The total volume of the cube in a cube is
189/4(2) inches3.

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Many flaws could have occurred during this lengthy procedure. An
example of this is the paper not being manufactured perfectly. The pieces of
paper might not have been exactly six inches by six inches, which would
cause some pieces to look different than others. Another flaw is that the
folds might not have been very precise. This would lead to the lengths of
each side having different lengths. Also, it could lead to the cubes not
looking crisp and clean. Even though the given length of each side was six
inches, there could have been inaccurate measurements of the cube. Any of
these flaws could cause the total surface area and volume to be incorrect.
Making origami figures may not lead to finding area and volume in the
real world, but it is a fairly interesting concept. To conclude, the area of the
cube in a cube was 108 inches2. The volume of the inner cube was 27/4(2)
inches3. The volume of the outer cube was 542 inches3. Lastly, the total
volume of the empty space in the cube in a cube was 189/42 inches3. All
of these numbers have a special meaning. They mean that with just a little
change in perspective, a whole new world can come to life.