Pictures of Platonic Solids Why only five Platonic Solids?

Dodecahedron Number of faces: 12 Number of edges: 30 Number of vertices: 20

Tetrahedron Number of faces: 4 Number of edges: 6 Number of vertices: 4

Cube Number of faces: 6 Number of edges: 12 Number of vertices: 8

Octahedron Number of faces: 8 Number of edges: 12 Number of vertices: 6

Icosahedron Number of faces: 20 Number of edges: 30 Number of vertices: 12

A Platonic solid is a polyhedron all of whose faces are congruent regular convex polygons*, and where the same number of faces meet at every vertex.

The Greeks recognized that there are only five platonic solids. But why is this so? The key observation is that the interior angles of the polygons meeting at a vertex of a polyhedron add to less than 360 degrees. Tetrahedron: Three triangels at a vertex: 3*60 = 180 degrees Octahedron: Four triangles at a vertex: 4*60 = 240 degrees Icosahedron: Five triangles at a vertex: 5*60 = 300 degrees Cube: Three squares at a vertex: 3*90 = 270 degrees Dodecahedron: Three pentagons at a vertex: 3*108 = 324 degrees Note: Six triangles: 6*60 = 360 degrees Four squares: 4*90 = 360 degrees Four pentagons: 4*108 = 432 degrees Three hexagons: 3*120 = 360 degrees So there are only five Platonic Solids!

*) Regular means that the sides of the polygon are all the same length. Congruent means that the polygons are all the same size

Pictures of Archimedean Solids

Cuboctahedron Number of faces: 14 Number of edges: 24 Number of vertices: 12

Icosidodecahedron Number of faces: 32 Number of edges: 60 Number of vertices: 30

Truncated Tetrahedron Number of faces: 8 Number of edges: 18 Number of vertices: 12

Truncated Octahedron Number of faces: 14 Number of edges: 36 Number of vertices: 24

Truncated Cube Number of faces: 14 Number of edges: 36 Number of vertices: 24

Rhombicuboctahedron Number of faces: 26 Number of edges: 48 Number of vertices: 24

Truncated Cuboctahedron Number of faces: 26 Number of edges: 72 Number of vertices: 48

Truncated Icosidodecahedron Number of faces: 62 Number of edges: 180 Number of vertices: 120

Snub Cube Number of faces: 38 Number of edges: 60 Number of vertices: 24

Snub Dodecahedron Number of faces: 92 Number of edges: 150 Number of vertices: 60

Truncated Icosahedron (football) Number of faces: 32 Number of edges: 90 Number of vertices: 60

Truncated Dodecahedron Number of faces: 32 Number of edges: 90 Number of vertices: 60

Rhombicosidodecahedron Number of faces: 62 Number of edges: 120 Number of vertices

Pictures of Kepler-Poinsot Polyhedra

Great Icosahedron Number of faces: 20 Number of edges: 30 Number of vertices: 12

Great Dodecahedron Number of faces: 12 Number of edges: 30 Number of vertices: 12

Small Stellated Dodecahedron Number of faces: 12 Number of edges: 30 Number of vertices: 12

Great Stellated Dodecahedron Number of faces: 12 Number of edges: 30 Number of

kepler

Archimedes

Rhombicosidodecahedron

Truncated Dodecahedron

Truncated Icosahedron

Truncated Octahedron

Truncated Cube

Rhombicuboctahedron

Snub Cube

Snub Cube

Truncated Cuboctahedron

Truncated Tetrahedron

Icosidodecahedron

Cuboctahedron

Platonik

Dodecahedron

Tetrahedron

Octahedron

Icosahedron

cube