In the hexagonal pyramid above, find the measure of the angle made between two faces that minimizes the lateral surface area when the volume is held constant.
Express the result to five decimal places.
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Let λ be the measure of the angle made between two faces.
B A = r i + 0 j + 0 k
B C = − 2 r i − 2 3 r j + 0 k
B Q = 2 r i − 2 3 r j + h k
u = B Q X B A = 0 i + h r j + 2 3 r 2 k
v = B Q X B C = 2 3 r h i − 2 1 r h j − 2 3 r 2 k
u ⋅ v = − 4 r 2 ( 2 h 2 + 3 r 2 ) and ∣ u ∣ = 2 r 4 h 2 + 3 r 2 = ∣ v ∣ ⟹ cos ( λ ) = − 4 h 2 + 3 r 2 2 h 2 + 3 r 2
The lateral surface area S = 2 3 r 4 h 2 + 3 r 2
The volume V = 4 3 1 r 2 h = k ⟹ h = r 2 4 3 k ⟹ S ( r ) = 2 r 3 1 9 2 k 2 + 3 r 6 ⟹
d r d S = r 2 1 9 2 k 2 + 3 r 6 9 ( r 6 − 3 2 k 2 ) = 0 ⟹ r = ( 4 2 k ) 3 1 ⟹ h = ( 4 2 ) 3 2 4 3 k
⟹ cos ( λ ) = − 3 2 ⟹ λ ≈ 1 3 1 . 8 1 0 3 1 .