IMC 2008 Q12
12. The sculpture 'Cubo Vazado' [Emptied Cube] by the Brazilian artist Franz Weissmann is formed by removing cubical blocks from a solid cube to leave the symmetrical shape shown. If all the edges have length 1, 2 or 3 units, what is the surface area of the sculpture in square units?
- A 36
- B 42
- C 48
- D 54
- E 60
Intermediate Mathematical Challenge 2008, Question 12. © UK Mathematics Trust. Original paper on ukmt.org.uk
Answer: C 48
In each of 6 possible directions, the view of the sculpture is as shown, with the outer square having side 3 units and the inner square having side 1 unit.
So the surface area of the sculpture is 6 × 8 units2 = 48 units2.
Solution © UK Mathematics Trust, from the IMC 2008 solutions.