What is the sum of the inradii of each of the different Platonic solids (tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and an icosahedron) if each Platonic solid has an equal numerical surface area and volume?
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Let n be the number of faces, A be the area of one face, V be the volume, and r be the inradius of one of the Platonic solids.
Then the Platonic solid can be subdivided into n pyramids, where the apex of each pyramid is the center of the Platonic solid and the base of each pyramid is a face of the Platonic solid. Since each pyramid has a volume of 3 1 A r , the volume of the whole Platonic solid can be expressed as V = 3 1 n A r .
Since the Platonic solid has an equal numerical surface area and volume, V = S , and since the surface area is S = n A , and V = n A .
Therefore, V = 3 1 n A r becomes V = 3 1 V r , which simplifies to r = 3 .
This means that all 5 different Platonic solids with an equal numerical surface area and volume have an inradius of 3 , which means that the sum is 5 ⋅ 3 = 1 5 .