Octahedron facts for kids
An octahedron is a polyhedron (a 3D shape) with eight sides, which are all equilateral triangles, four of which meet at each corner. It has 12 edges and 6 corners. It is one of the 5 Platonic solids.
Simply put, this is two rectangular pyramids put together. A rectangular pyramid is a pyramid with the base of a square or rectangle. In other words, this is just a pyramid that, when flipped to stand on its point (like a spinning top) it has a rectangular from a birds eye view.
Octahedral shapes also occur in nature: The crystals of Diamond, alum, and fluorite have this shape. Certain dice also have this shape.
Images for kids
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The octahedron represents the central intersection of two tetrahedra
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Fluorite octahedron.
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Two identically formed Rubik's Snakes can approximate an octahedron.
See also
In Spanish: Octaedro para niños
