A tetrahedron has all its faces triangles with sides 13,14,15. What is its volume?
A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.
Solution
Let ABC be a triangle with AB=13,BC=14,CA=15. Let AD,BE be altitudes. Then BD=5,CD=9. (If you don't already know this, it can be deduced from the Pythagorean Theorem: CD2−BD2=(CD2+AD2)−(BD2+AD2)=AC2−AB2=56, while CD+BD=BC=14, giving CD−BD=56/14=4, and now solve the linear system.) Also, AD=AB2−BD2=12. Similar reasoning gives AE=33/5, EC=42/5. Now let F be the point on BC such that CF=BD=5, and let G be on AC such that CG=AE=33/5. Imagine placing face ABC flat on the table, and letting X be a point in space with CX=13,BX=14. By mentally rotating triangle BCX about line BC, we can see that X lies on the plane perpendicular to BC through F. In particular, this holds if X is the fourth vertex of our tetrahedron ABCX. Similarly, X lies on the plane perpendicular to AC through G. Let the mutual intersection of these two planes and plane ABC be H. Then XH is the altitude of the tetrahedron. To find XH, extend FH to meet AC at I. Then △CFI∼△CDA, a 3-4-5 triangle, so FI=CF⋅4/3=20/3, and CI=CF⋅5/3=25/3. Then IG=CI−CG=26/15, and HI=IG⋅5/4=13/6. This leads to HF=FI−HI=9/2, and finally XH=XF2−HF2=AD2−HF2=355/2. Now XABC is a tetrahedron whose base △ABC has area AD⋅BC/2=12⋅14/2=84, and whose height XH is 355/2, so its volume is (84)(355/2)/3=4255.
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