If we makea tablethat summarizesthe data from eachof the figureswe get:
Figure Vertices Faces Edges
Squarepyramid 5 5 8
Rectangularprism 8 6 12
Octahedron 6 8 12
Pentagonalprism 10 7 15Do you see a pattern?Calculatethe sum of the numberof verticesand edges.Thencomparethat sum to
the numberof edges:
Figure V F E V + F
squarepyramid 5 5 8 10
rectangularprism 8 6 12 14
octahedron 6 8 12 14
pentagonalprism 10 7 15 17Do you see the pattern?The formulathat summarizesthis relationshipis namedaftermathematician
LeonhardEuler. Euler’s formulasays,for any polyhedron:
Euler'sFormulafor Polyhedra
orYou can use Euler’s formulato find the numberof edges,faces,or verticesin a polyhedron.
Example 4
Countthe numberof faces,edges,and verticesin the figure.Doesit conformto Euler’s formula?