Question

A convex polyhedron $P$ has $26$ vertices, $60$ edges, and $36$ faces, $24$ of which are triangular, and $12$ of which are quadrilaterals. A space diagonal is a line segment connecting two non-adjacent vertices that do not belong to the same face. How many space diagonals does $P$ have?

Answer

Solution:

Every pair of vertices determines exactly one of three things: an edge, a diagonal of a face, or a space diagonal. There are $\binom{26}{2} = 325$ pairs of vertices in all.

Of these, $60$ are edges. The $24$ triangular faces have no diagonals, while each of the $12$ quadrilateral faces has $2,$ for $24$ face diagonals (no two faces share a diagonal, since the polyhedron is convex).

The number of space diagonals is $325 - 60 - 24 = 241.$

2004 AIME I Problem 3

Solution:

Problem 3 in Other Years