Calculating the volume of convex polyhedra using GeoGebra 3D

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23925/2237-9657.2026.v15i1p133-149

Keywords:

icosidodecahedron, classes of polyhedra, nested radicals

Abstract

This article presents the decomposition of the icosidodecahedron, an Archimedean convex polyhedron that is the dual of the rhombic triacontahedron, a Catalan polyhedron. The decomposition into regular triangular and pentagonal pyramids, performed in GeoGebra 3D, aims to establish a strategy for calculating the polyhedron's volume. In the polyhedron construction stage, which precedes the decomposition stage, we imported information, such as the coordinates of the vertices and faces, from the Visual Polyhedra Platform. In the calculation of the polyhedron's volume, we converted nested radicals into sums and differences of simple radicals. We made the decomposition available on a GeoGebra platform page accessible via an external link and illustrated the process with polyhedra of other classes. The decomposition strategy proved effective in calculating the volume, which agrees with data available in the literature.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Marcello Capilé Luiz, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná

Undergraduate in mathematics at Federal University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR), Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

 

Rudimar Luiz Nós, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná

Doctor in Applied Mathematics from the University of São Paulo (USP). Senior postgraduate scholarship at the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC), Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Victoria Mazotti Rodrigues da Silva, Colégio Estadual Unidade Polo

Master’s in Mathematics from Federal University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR). Basic education mathematics teacher in the state of Paraná (SEED-PR), São José dos Pinhais, Paraná, Brazil.

References

Abar, C. A. A. P & Alencar, S. V. (2013). The Instrumental Genesis and its interaction with GeoGebra: a proposal for continuing education for mathematics teachers. Bolema, 27(46), 349–365.

Catalan, M. E. (1865). Memoire sur la theorie des polyedres. Journal de l'ecole Imperiale Polytechnique, 24(41), 1–71.

Coxeter, H. S. M. (1973). Regular polytopes. New York: Dover.

Cromwell, P. R. (2008). Polyhedra. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

GeoGebra. (2026). GeoGebra manual. Available at: https://geogebra.github.io/docs/reference/en/GeoGebra_Installation/. Accessed on: 28/12/2025.

Hart, G. W. (2025). Encyclopedia of polyhedra. Available at: https://geometrycode.com/encyclopedia-of-polyhedra-by-george-w-hart-and-other-geometric-gems/. Accessed on: 06/04/2026.

Johnson, N. W. (1966). Convex polyhedra with regular faces. Canadian Journal of Mathematics, 18, 169–200.

Landau, S. (1994). How to tangle with a nested radical. The Mathematical Intelligencer, 16, 49–55.

Mathias, C. V., Silva, C. M. da & Simas, F. L. B. (2024). Spatial visualization skills present in items of the Brazilian high school national exam. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 20(3), 1–11.

McCooey, D. I. (2015a). Visual polyhedra. Available at: https://dmccooey.com/polyhedra/. Accessed on: 28/12/2025.

McCooey, D. I. (2015b). Icosidodecahedron. Available at: https://dmccooey.com/polyhedra/Icosidodecahedron.html. Accessed on: 04/04/2026.

McCooey, D. I. (2015c). Icosidodecahedron coordinates. Available at: https://dmccooey.com/polyhedra/Icosidodecahedron.txt. Accessed on: 04/04/2026.

McCooey, D. I. (2015d). Rhombic triacontahedron. Available at: https://dmccooey.com/polyhedra/RhombicTriacontahedron.html. Accessed on: 04/04/2026.

McCooey, D. I. (2015e). Triangular hebesphenorotunda. Available at: https://dmccooey.com/polyhedra/TriangularHebesphenorotunda.html. Accessed on: 04/04/2026.

Mindat. (2026a). Spessartine. Available at: https://www.mindat.org/min-3725.html. Accessed on: 04/04/2026.

Mindat. (2026b). Grossular. Available at: https://www.mindat.org/min-1755.html. Accessed on: 04/04/2026.

Nós, R. L., Saito, O. H. & Santos, M. A. dos. (2017a). Geometria, radicais duplos e a raiz quadrada de números complexos. Revista Eletrônica Paulista de Matemática, 11, 48–64. https://doi.org/10.21167/cqdvol11201723169664rlnohsmas4864.

Nós, R. L., Saito, O. H. & Santos, M. A. dos. (2017b). Radicais duplos e a raiz quadrada de um número complexo. In: Proceeding Series of the Brazilian Society of Computational and Applied Mathematics 5(1) (pp. 010557-1– 010557-7). Gramado, RS. https://doi.org/10.5540/03.2017.005.01.0557.

Nós, R. L & Silva, V. M. R. da. (2019a). Radicais duplos no cálculo do volume de poliedros convexos. Revista Eletrônica Paulista de Matemática, 16, 53–70. https://doi.org/10.21167/cqdvol16201923169664rlnvmrs5370.

Nós, R. L. & Silva, V. M. R. da. (2019b). Compondo/decompondo poliedros convexos com o GeoGebra 3D. In: Proceeding Series of the Brazilian Society of Computational and Applied Mathematics 7(1) (pp. 010364-1– 010364-7). Uberlândia, MG. https://doi.org/10.5540/03.2020.007.01.0364.

Pugh, A. (1976). Polyhedra: a visual approach. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Rahal, S. (2017). Introduction to nested radicals. Stockholm: Stockholms Universitet.

Silva, V. M. R. da (2018). Calculando o volume de poliedros convexos. 2018. 129f. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Licenciatura em Matemática) – Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR. https://repositorio.utfpr.edu.br/jspui/handle/1/9047.

Silva, V. M. R. da & Nós, R. L. (2018). Calculando o volume de poliedros convexos. Curitiba, PR: CRV. https://doi.org/10.24824/978854442681.4.

Silva, V. M. R. da & Nós, R. L. (2022). Using GeoGebra 3D in the composition and decomposition of convex polyhedra for volume calculation. Journal of Engineering Research, 3(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.3173222221210.

Silva, V. M. R. da, Nós, R. L. & Sano, M. (2023). Uma visão dinâmica do teorema de Pitágoras via GeoGebra. Revista do Instituto GeoGebra Internacional de São Paulo, 12(1), 62–77. https://doi.org/10.23925/2237-9657.2023.v12i1p062-077.

Weisstein, E. W. (2026). Dual polyhedron. Available at: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/DualPolyhedron.html. Accessed on: 05/04/2026.

Downloads

Published

2026-07-01

How to Cite

Luiz, M. C., Nós, R. L., & Silva, V. M. R. da. (2026). Calculating the volume of convex polyhedra using GeoGebra 3D. Journal of the GeoGebra International Institute of São Paulo, 15(1), 133–149. https://doi.org/10.23925/2237-9657.2026.v15i1p133-149

Issue

Section

Artigos

Similar Articles

1 2 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.