In
geometry
Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
, the truncated dodecahedron is an
Archimedean solid
The Archimedean solids are a set of thirteen convex polyhedra whose faces are regular polygon and are vertex-transitive, although they aren't face-transitive. The solids were named after Archimedes, although he did not claim credit for them. They ...
. It has 12 regular
decagon
In geometry, a decagon (from the Greek δέκα ''déka'' and γωνία ''gonía,'' "ten angles") is a ten-sided polygon or 10-gon.. The total sum of the interior angles of a simple decagon is 1440°. Regular decagon
A '' regular decagon'' has a ...
al faces, 20 regular
triangular
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimensional ...
faces, 60 vertices and 90 edges.
Construction
The truncated dodecahedron is constructed from a
regular dodecahedron
A regular dodecahedron or pentagonal dodecahedronStrictly speaking, a pentagonal dodecahedron need not be composed of regular pentagons. The name "pentagonal dodecahedron" therefore covers a wider class of solids than just the Platonic solid, the ...
by cutting all of its vertices off, a process known as
truncation
In mathematics and computer science, truncation is limiting the number of digits right of the decimal point.
Truncation and floor function
Truncation of positive real numbers can be done using the floor function. Given a number x \in \mathbb ...
. Alternatively, the truncated dodecahedron can be constructed by
expansion: pushing away the edges of a regular dodecahedron, forming the
pentagonal
In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°.
A pentagon may be simple or self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ''regular pentagon'' (or ''star pentagon'') is cal ...
faces into
decagonal faces, as well as the vertices into
triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
s. Therefore, it has 32 faces, 90 edges, and 60 vertices.
The truncated dodecahedron may also be constructed by using
Cartesian coordinate
In geometry, a Cartesian coordinate system (, ) in a plane is a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely by a pair of real numbers called ''coordinates'', which are the signed distances to the point from two fixed perpendicular o ...
s. With an edge length
centered at the origin, they are all even permutations of
where
is the
golden ratio
In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their summation, sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities and with , is in a golden ratio to if
\fr ...
.
Properties
The surface area
and the volume
of a truncated dodecahedron of edge length
are:
The dihedral angle of a truncated dodecahedron between two regular dodecahedral faces is 116.57°, and that between triangle-to-dodecahedron is 142.62°.

The truncated dodecahedron is an
Archimedean solid
The Archimedean solids are a set of thirteen convex polyhedra whose faces are regular polygon and are vertex-transitive, although they aren't face-transitive. The solids were named after Archimedes, although he did not claim credit for them. They ...
, meaning it is a highly symmetric and semi-regular polyhedron, and two or more different regular polygonal faces meet in a vertex.
[ It has the same symmetry as the regular icosahedron, the ]icosahedral symmetry
In mathematics, and especially in geometry, an object has icosahedral symmetry if it has the same symmetries as a regular icosahedron. Examples of other polyhedra with icosahedral symmetry include the regular dodecahedron (the dual polyhedr ...
.[ The polygonal faces that meet for every vertex are one equilateral triangle and two regular decagon, and the ]vertex figure
In geometry, a vertex figure, broadly speaking, is the figure exposed when a corner of a general -polytope is sliced off.
Definitions
Take some corner or Vertex (geometry), vertex of a polyhedron. Mark a point somewhere along each connected ed ...
of a truncated dodecahedron is . The dual of a truncated dodecahedron is triakis icosahedron, a Catalan solid
The Catalan solids are the dual polyhedron, dual polyhedra of Archimedean solids. The Archimedean solids are thirteen highly-symmetric polyhedra with regular faces and symmetric vertices. The faces of the Catalan solids correspond by duality to ...
, which shares the same symmetry as the truncated dodecahedron.
The truncated dodecahedron is non-chiral
Chirality () is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek language, Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object.
An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is dist ...
, meaning it is congruent to its mirror image.
Truncated dodecahedral graph
In the mathematical
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
field of graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of ''graph (discrete mathematics), graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of ''Vertex (graph ...
, a ''truncated dodecahedral graph'' is the graph of vertices and edges of the ''truncated dodecahedron'', one of the Archimedean solid
The Archimedean solids are a set of thirteen convex polyhedra whose faces are regular polygon and are vertex-transitive, although they aren't face-transitive. The solids were named after Archimedes, although he did not claim credit for them. They ...
s. It has 60 vertices and 90 edges, and is a cubic
Cubic may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Cube (algebra), "cubic" measurement
* Cube, a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex
** Cubic crystal system, a crystal system w ...
Archimedean graph.
Related polyhedron
The truncated dodecahedron can be applied in the polyhedron's construction known as the augmentation. Examples of polyhedrons are the Johnson solid
In geometry, a Johnson solid, sometimes also known as a Johnson–Zalgaller solid, is a convex polyhedron whose faces are regular polygons. They are sometimes defined to exclude the uniform polyhedrons. There are ninety-two Solid geometry, s ...
s, whose constructions are involved by attaching pentagonal cupola
Properties
The pentagonal cupola (geometry), cupola's faces are five equilateral triangles, five squares, one regular pentagon, and one regular decagon. It has the property of Convex set, convexity and regular polygonal faces, from which it is ...
s onto the truncated dodecahedron: augmented truncated dodecahedron, parabiaugmented truncated dodecahedron, metabiaugmented truncated dodecahedron, and triaugmented truncated dodecahedron.
See also
* Great stellated truncated dodecahedron
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
**
*
Editable printable net of a truncated dodecahedron with interactive 3D view
{{Polyhedron navigator
Uniform polyhedra
Archimedean solids
Truncated tilings