AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

1. THREE-DIMENSIONAL FIGURE

Draw the three views of a three-dimensional figure

A three-dimensional figure can be represented by its three views: the front view,
side view, and top view.

To draw a top view, imagine flying like a bird above the three-dimensional figure
and looking straight down on it. If you flew above the pyramid and looked down,
you would see more than just the top point. You would see the outline of the base
of the figure as well as the four edges that lead to the corners of the base. For a
bottom view, imagine lying below the three-dimensional figure and looking
straight up. For side views, imagine floating around the figure and taking a picture
of what you see when you face each side directly.

Example 1. Draw the figure shown in front, top, and side views.

Solution:
From the top and side views, there appears to be 3 cubes on the top
level. The front view shows that the figure has six cubes.

Example 2. Draw the front, top, and side views of the figure.

Solution:
Front: The figure looks like a row of 3 squares on
the bottom with 2 squares on top of the right side
and 1 square on top of the left side.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Top: The figure looks like a row of 3 squares.

Side: The figure looks like a column of 3 squares.

Example 3. Draw the front, top, and side views of the following solid.

Solution:

Draw the three-dimensional figure giving three views

Different views of a solid figure are shown. A point of view is called a

perspective. You can draw a three-dimensional figure using three different
perspectives.

Example 4. The front, top, and side views of a stack of cubes are shown below.
Draw the three-dimensional figure.

Solution:
Step 1. Use the front view to build the front side
of the figure. The front view shows that
the front side is a 2-by-2 square.

Step 2. Use the top view to draft the

figure. The top view shows that the
length of the solid is 3 units.

Step 3. Use the side view to complete the figure. The side view shows that the
base layer has three cubes and the top layer has only one cube in the middle. So
we remove four cubes from the second layer.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Example 5. A figure made up of unit cubes appears from the different views.
What is the minimum number of cubes which could be used to build this figure?

(A) 8 (B) 9 (C) 10 (D) 11 (E) 12

Solution: B.

☆Example 6. (2003 AMC 8) A figure is constructed from unit cubes. Each cube
shares at least one face with another cube. What is the
minimum number of cubes needed to build a figure with
the front and side views shown?
(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6 (E) 7

Solution: (B).
There are only two ways to construct a solid from three cubes so that each cube
shares a face with at least one other:

Neither of these configurations has both the front and side views shown. The four-
cube configuration has the required front and side views. Thus at least four cubes
are necessary.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Example 7. The outside of this set of four cubic blocks with no space between
blocks is painted. What is the number of painted square faces?
(A) 12 (B) 14 (C) 16 (D) 18 (E) 24

Solution: D.
We view this solid from three sides:
Top (and bottom): we see 3 squares. 3  2 = 6.
Front (and back): we see 3 squares. 3  2 = 6.
Left side (and right): we see 3 squares. 3  2 = 6.
The number of painted square faces is 6  3 = 18.

☆Example 8. (2002 AMC 8 problem 22) Six cubes, each an inch on an edge, are
fastened together, as shown. Find the total surface area in square inches. Include
the top, bottom and sides.
(A) 18 (B) 24 (C) 26 (D) 30 (E) 36

Solution: C.
Method 1: When viewed from the top and bottom, there are 4
faces exposed; from the left and right sides, there are 4 faces
exposed and from the front and back, there are 5 faces exposed. The total is 4 + 4
+ 4 + 4 + 5 + 5 = 26 exposed faces.

Method 2:
Before the cubes were glued together, there were 6 × 6 = 36 faces exposed. Five
pairs of faces were glued together, so 5 × 2 = 10 faces were no longer exposed.
This leaves 36  10 = 26 exposed faces.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Drawing a base plan

A base plan shows the shape of the base when viewed from above. The base plan
indicates the height of each part of the base, usually with numbers. Base plans are
particularly useful for figures with rectangular faces.

Example 9. Draw a base plan for the following solid object:

Solution:
Step 1. Draw the base as it looks from above. Since the solid
object is made of cubes,
draw one square for each stack.

Step 2. Write the number of cubes in each stack inside the correct
squares.

Example 10. The drawing below is a base plan of a solid figure made of stacked
cubes.

Which of the following solid figures is represented by the base plan above?

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Solution: B.

☆Example 11. (1999 AMC 8 problem 20) Figure 1 is called a "stack map." The
numbers tell how many cubes are stacked in each position. Fig. 2 shows these
cubes, and Fig. 3 shows the view of the stacked cubes as seen from the front.

Which of the following is the front view for the stack map in Figure 4?

Solution: B.
The front view shows the larger of the numbers of cubes in the front or back stack
in each column. Therefore the desired front view will have, from left to right, 2, 3,
and 4 cubes. This is choice B.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

2. NET OF A CUBE (11 TOTAL)

Figure (b) is a topological transformation of the edges of the cube in figure (a).

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Find the other vertices that meet with a given vertex when the net is folded

Which vertices meet with vertex 1 when the net below is folded?

Step 1. Draw a line across two square faces, that is, draw a line from the given
vertex 1 to point O.

Step 2. Find other points that are the same distance to point O. In this case find
the points 2 and 3.

Step 3. Conclusion: Vertices 1, 2 and 3 will meet when the

net is folded.

Note that for a cube, three faces share one vertex.

☆Example 12. (1999 AMC 8) Six squares are colored, front and back, (R=red,
B=blue, O=orange, Y=yellow, G=green, and W=white).
They are hinged together as shown, then folded to form a
cube. The face opposite the white face is
(A) B (B) G (C) O (D) R (E) Y

Solution: A.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Method 1 (official solution):

When G is arranged to be the base, B is the back face and W is
the front face. Thus, B is opposite W.

Method 2 (our solution):

We know that faces G, Y, and O are adjacent to face W. So
we only need to examine faces R and B. We draw two line
segments as shown in the figure below.
We then know that vertex 2 will meet with vertex 1 when
the net is folded. So B must be the face opposite to W.

☆Example 13. (2003 Mathcounts Chapter) When this net of six squares is cut
out and folded to form a cube, what is the product of the numbers on
the four faces adjacent to the one labeled with a “1” ?

Solution: 144.
Method 1 (official solution):
With our visualizing skills, we imagine the cube folding back up. The
“1” will touch 2, 3, 4, and 6. The product of the numbers on the four faces
adjacent to the one labeled with a “1” is 2 × 3 × 4 × 6 = 144.

Method 2 (our solution):

We know that face 2 is adjacent to face 1. We draw three black line segments as
shown in the figure below.

From these line segments, we know that vertices A, B, and C will

meet when the cube is formed, so we have three faces (2, 4 and 6)
of the four faces.

We also know that the face marked 3 is adjacent to the one labeled
with “1” since E and D will meet when folded.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Therefore the product of the numbers on the four faces adjacent to the one labeled
with a “1” is 2 × 3 × 4 × 6 = 144. (Can you see which face is opposite to face 1?)

☆Example 14. (1995 AMC 12, 2003 Mathcounts School) The figure shown can
be folded into the shape of a cube. In the resulting cube, which of
the lettered faces is opposite the face marked x?
(A) A (B) B (C) C (D) D (E) E

Solution: C.
Method 1 (official solution):
Think of A as the bottom. Fold B up to be the back. Then x folds upward to
become the left side and C folds forward to become the right side, so C is
opposite x.

Method 2 (our solution):

We select a point P and draw a line segment PO across
two faces. We find another point which is Q as shown in
the figure. We then know that P and Q will meet when
folded. The face x will share the same vertex with the
faces D and E, so D and E are not opposite to x. We also know that face x shares
the same vertex with faces B and A. The only face left is face C, which must be
opposite x.

3. NET OF AN OCTAHEDRON

An octahedron is the solid with six polyhedron vertices, twelve polyhedron

edges, and eight equivalent equilateral triangular faces.

There are 11 distinct nets for the octahedron.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

one – six – one

one – five – two

one – four – three four – four

Figure (b) is a topological transformation of the edges of the octahedron in figure

(a).

(a) (b)

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Find the other vertices that meet with a given vertex when the net is folded

Which vertices meet with vertex 1 when the net below is folded?

Step 1. Draw a line across two triangular faces, i.e. draw a line from the vertex 1
to point O.

Step 2. Find other points that are the same distance to point O
(in this case, find the points 2 and 3).

Step 3. Conclusion: Vertices 1, 2, and 3 will meet when the net is folded.

Note that for an octahedron, four faces share one vertex.

Example 15. Find the other vertices that meet with Vertex 1 when the resulting
net is folded.

Solution: Vertices 2 and 3.

Step 1: Draw a line that crosses two triangular faces, i.e. draw a
line from the vertex 1 to point O.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Step 2: Find other points that are the same distance to point O, in this case, points
2 and 3.

Note for an octahedron, four faces share one vertex.

Example 16. (2004 Mathcounts State Sprint #21) This net is folded into a regular
octahedron. What is the sum of the numbers on the triangular
faces sharing an edge with the face with a “1” on it?

Solution: 14.
Method 1 (official solution):
The net is folded into a regular octahedron, and each triangle
is equilateral.

Once folded, it looks like two square pyramids connected at their square bases.
The sides around the top are 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the sides around the bottom are 5, 6,
7 and 8. Side 1 is connected to 2 and 4 on the top and 8 on the bottom. 4 + 8 + 2 =
14 Ans.

Method 2 (our solution):

From the figure, it is easy to see that face 2 shares an edge with face 1. Now we
just need to find the other two faces.
As shown in the figure and from our method, the faces are 8 and 4. (When
folded, four faces 1, 4, 5, and 8 share one vertex. Note face 5 shares a vertex with
face 1 but not an edge).

The sum of the three faces is 8 + 4 + 2 = 14.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

Example 17. The net below can be folded up to form an octahedron. When it is
folded up, which two vertices are glued to vertex V?

Solution: H, I.
The two vertices are H and I.

Example 18. If the strip of triangles, as shown below, is folded to form an

octahedron, and each vertex is assigned the value of the sum of the four triangular
faces to which it belongs, find the minimum value of a vertex.

Solution: 12.
The minimum value is on the vertex with 1, 2, 4, and 5 and the sum is 12.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

4. IMPORTANT FORMULAS

(1) Euler’s formula: F + V = E + 2

F: number of faces, V: number of vertices, and E: number of edges of a
polyhedron.

Polyhedron Faces Vertices Edges

Tetrahedron 4 4 6
Cube 6 8 12
Octahedron 8 6 12
Icosahedron 20 12 30
Dodecahedron 12 20 30

FS
(2) Edges and faces formula: E 
2
E is the number of edges of the solid, F is the number of faces of the solid or net,
and S is the number of sides of the faces.

☆Example 19. (2007 Mathcounts Chapter Team #6) The diagram shown is the
net of a regular dodecahedron. In a regular dodecahedron,
three edges come together at each vertex. When the net of
this dodecahedron is put together, the solid has x vertices
and y edges. What is the value of x + y?
(A) 25 (B) 30 (C) 35 (D) 40 (E) 50

Solution: E.
Method 1 (official solution):
A dodecahedron, which is made up of 12 pentagons, looks like this
when the net is put together.
Clearly you can see 5 vertices on the pentagon in front and,
similarly, there are 5 vertices on the pentagon in the back. The
other 10 pentagons are split into 5 which abut the front pentagon

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 13 Geometric Visualization

and 5 which abut the rear pentagon. Each of the first 5 shares their vertices with
the second 5.

While each of the first 5 pentagons touch the second 5 pentagons at 3 vertices,
one of them is shared with a neighbor. Thus, each of the 5 pentagons shares 2
vertices with the 5 × 2 = 10. 10 + 10 = 20 vertices. For the edges, we have the 5
on the front pentagon and 5 on the rear pentagon. Then, there are 5 edges
emanating from the vertices of the front pentagon and 5 emanating from the rear
pentagon.

Finally, there are 10 more where the two sets of 5 vertices meet each other. 10 +
10 + 10 = 30. 20 + 30 = 50.

Method 2 (our solution):

We know that F + V = E +2, which can be rearranged to: V + E = 2E +2 – F
FS
We also know that E  (two sides of the net will become one edge when
2
folded), so E = 12 5  2 = 30. F = 12
x + y = V + E = 2E + 2 – F = 2  30 + 2 – 12 = 50.

Example 20. A convex polyhedron has twelve faces and 8 vertices. There are
two vertices with six edges coming together at each vertex. The rest of vertices
with n edges come together at each vertex. Find n.
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

Solution: D.
We know that F + V = E + 2  V+F–E= 2  8 + 12 – E = 2.
E = 18.
By the Edges and Faces formula, we have:

F  S 26  6 N
E   18  n = 4.
2 2

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