Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/ib/paper-3/3g/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 ib Paper 3 3G Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The Euler formula for a sphere, applied to the surface of a convex polyhedron, is . In a regular polyhedron let be the common number of edges incident at a vertex. Counting vertex-edge and face-edge incidences, pentagonal faces give and . Hencewhose right-hand side can be positive only if . Thus . Substitution then yields , provingThese are the counts of the dodecahedron. Here regular polyhedron is understood in the convex, ordinary-face sense used by the stated Euler formula; self-intersecting star constructions do not share these hypotheses.
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