A regular tetrahedron has a sphere with the volume of
6
π
inscribed in it. Find the value of the tetrahedron's side length.
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Splendid solution!
r = i n r a d i u s e , s = e d g e / s i d e , i n c i r c l e v o l u m e = 3 4 ∗ π ∗ r 3 = 6 ∗ π , ∴ 3 4 ∗ r 3 = 6 , ⟹ r = 3 6 ∗ 4 3 . B u t a l s o r = 1 2 1 ∗ 6 ∗ s . ∴ s = 3 6 ∗ 4 3 ∗ 6 1 2 = 6 6 ∗ 1 6 9 ∗ 6 1 2 = 6 8 3 ∗ 9 ∗ 6 1 2 = 2 3 ∗ 6 1 2 = 6 .
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Let r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 denote the inradii of the faces of the tetrahedron and R denote the inradius of the tetrahedron.
We have the following inequality,
r 1 2 1 + r 2 2 1 + r 3 2 1 + r 4 2 1 ≤ R 2 2
with equality occurring if and only if the tetrahedron is a regular one.
Let a be the length of an edge of the tetrahedron. We need to find the inradius of an equilateral triangle with side length a .
r 1 = s K where K is the area of the triangle and s is the semiperimeter.
r 1 = r 2 = r 3 = r 4 = 2 3 a 4 a 2 3 = 6 a 3
Hence, r 1 2 1 + r 2 2 1 + r 3 2 1 + r 4 2 1 = 4 × ( a 2 1 2 ) = a 2 4 8 = R 2 2
Then, R 2 = 2 4 a 2 and R = 2 6 a
The volume of the sphere is,
3 4 π R 3 = 3 4 π ( 2 6 a ) 3 = 1 4 4 6 4 a 3 π = 3 6 6 a 3 π = π 6
Hence, a 3 = 2 1 6 , a = 6