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Brazil geometry
Problem
Let be a wooden cube. For each pair of vertices of , we cut through the plane orthogonal to and passing through its midpoint. Into how many pieces is the cube divided?
Solution
Let's call the plane orthogonal to and passing through the midpoint of a segment the "medial plane" of . There exist three different kinds of medial planes: the medial planes of the edges of (there are 3 different such planes); the medial planes of the diagonals of the faces of (there are 6 of such planes); the medial planes of the diagonals of (3 more planes). They divide into triangular pyramids, all of them having the center of as vertex. Moreover they divide each face of into triangles, that serve as bases for the pyramids. It's easy to see that each face is divided in exactly 16 triangles, so that the total number of pieces is .
Final answer
96
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