An octahedron is formed from two identical square based pyramids - OCR - GCSE Maths - Question 9 - 2019 - Paper 1
Question 9
An octahedron is formed from two identical square based pyramids.
The square bases are stuck together as shown.
The volume of the octahedron is 60 cm³.
The length ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:An octahedron is formed from two identical square based pyramids - OCR - GCSE Maths - Question 9 - 2019 - Paper 1
Step 1
Determine the volume formula for the pyramid
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Answer
The volume V of a square pyramid is given by the formula:
V=31×Base Area×Height
For a square base, the Base Area can be calculated as:
Base Area=a2
where a is the length of the side of the base.
Step 2
Calculate the base area
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Answer
Given that the length of the side of each pyramid's square base is 5 cm:
Base Area=52=25 cm2
Step 3
Relate the volume of one pyramid to the octahedron's volume
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Answer
Since the octahedron consists of two identical pyramids, the volume of one pyramid is:
Vpyramid=21×60=30 cm3
Step 4
Set up the equation to find height h
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Answer
Now substituting the known values into the volume formula:
30=31×25×h
Step 5
Solve for h
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Answer
To find the height h, we can rearrange the equation: