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CLASS 8 · GANITA PRAKASH PART II · CHAPTER 4

Exploring Some Geometric Themes

Explore fractals, profiles, solids and nets, shortest paths, projections and isometric drawings.

58 worked answersAll 7 exercise sets

What you will learn

  • Find patterns in iterative fractals and calculate counts, areas and perimeters.
  • Describe solid profiles, nets and surface paths.
  • Interpret projections and represent solids using front, top, side and isometric views.

58 worked answers · short steps first, explanations when you need them

4.1 Fractals

Textbook pages 71–74

Question carpet-steps

Describe the first three steps of the Sierpinski carpet.

Steps only

Step 0 is one solid square.

Divide it into a 3×3 grid and remove the centre square.

At the next step, repeat this in each of the 8 remaining squares.

Answer

Step 0: 1 square; Step 1: 8 smaller squares around a central hole; Step 2: repeat the centre removal in each of those 8 squares. The remaining small squares number 1, 8, 64.

Question carpet-squares-holes

For the Sierpinski carpet, find the number of remaining squares and holes at steps 0, 1, 2 and n.

Steps only

Each square gives 8 squares at the next step, so R_n=8^n.

At each new step, each previously remaining square creates one new hole.

H_0=0 and H_n=1+8+…+8^(n−1)=(8^n−1)/7.

Answer

Remaining squares: 1, 8, 64, and 8^n. Holes: 0, 1, 9, and (8^n−1)/7.

Question gasket-steps

Describe the first three steps of the Sierpinski gasket.

Steps only

Start with one filled equilateral triangle.

Join the side midpoints and remove the central triangle; 3 triangles remain.

Repeat the same operation in each remaining triangle.

Answer

Step 0 has 1 triangle; Step 1 has 3; Step 2 has 9. There are 1, then 1, then 4 total holes at these stages.

Question gasket-counts

Find the number of remaining triangles and holes at step n of the Sierpinski gasket.

Steps only

Each triangle produces 3 smaller triangles, so R_n=3^n.

At step k, 3^(k−1) new holes are created.

Total holes through step n: 1+3+…+3^(n−1)=(3^n−1)/2.

Answer

Remaining triangles: 3^n. Holes: (3^n−1)/2 (with 0 holes at step 0).

Question fractal-areas

The starting square and triangle each have area 1. What area remains at step n?

Steps only

In the carpet, each step keeps 8 of 9 equal-area parts: A_n=(8/9)^n.

In the gasket, each step keeps 3 of 4 equal-area parts: A_n=(3/4)^n.

Answer

Carpet: (8/9)^n square units. Gasket: (3/4)^n square units.

Question triangle-midpoints

Show why joining the three side midpoints of an equilateral triangle divides it into four identical equilateral triangles.

Steps only

Each side is split into two equal segments.

A segment joining midpoints is parallel to the third side and has half its length.

Each of the four small triangles therefore has three sides of length half the original side.

Answer

All four are equilateral with equal side lengths, so they are congruent.

Question koch-snowflake-steps

Describe how to construct the first steps of the Koch snowflake.

Steps only

Start with an equilateral triangle.

Divide each side into three equal parts, raise an outward equilateral bump on the middle third, and remove that third.

Repeat the same replacement on every new side.

Answer

The first three drawings are obtained by applying the one-third bump rule to every segment at each step.

Question koch-number-sides

How many sides are there at step n if Step 0 is an equilateral triangle?

Steps only

There are 3 sides initially.

Each step replaces every side by 4 sides.

S_n=3×4^n.

Answer

3×4^n sides at Step n.

Question koch-perimeter

The initial equilateral triangle has side length 1. Find the perimeter at Step n.

Steps only

At each step the number of segments is multiplied by 4 and each segment becomes one-third as long.

P_n=3×4^n×(1/3^n).

Answer

P_n=3(4/3)^n units.

Question fractal-art

What makes a repeated temple or textile motif fractal-like?

Steps only

Look for a large motif containing smaller copies with a similar arrangement.

Check whether the pattern repeats at more than one scale.

Answer

It is self-similar: a similar pattern appears in the whole and in smaller parts.

4.2 Visualising solids and making nets

Textbook pages 75–83

Question imaginary-square-corners

Cut off the four corners of a square by joining adjacent side midpoints. What shape remains, and can the corners be rearranged into another square?

Steps only

Joining adjacent side midpoints makes a smaller square.

The four removed pieces are congruent right-isosceles triangles.

The four triangles can be rearranged to form a square equal in area to the middle square.

Answer

The centre is a square. The four corner triangles can be rearranged into another square with the same area as the centre square.

Question triangle-corners

Mark each side of an equilateral triangle into thirds and cut off each corner at the marks. What remains?

Steps only

Each side keeps its middle third.

Each of the three corner cuts has length one-third of the original side.

Answer

A regular hexagon remains; all six sides are one-third the original triangle side.

Question square-thirds-corners

Mark every side of a square into thirds and cut off each corner at the marks. What shape remains?

Steps only

At each corner, join the one-third points on the two adjacent sides.

The four cuts are congruent and symmetrically placed.

Answer

An octagon remains: four original middle side segments alternate with four equal diagonal cut edges.

Question single-profile-shapes

Give one solid and viewing direction for each profile: square, circle and triangle.

Steps only

A cube viewed straight at a face has a square profile.

A cylinder viewed along its axis has a circular profile.

A triangular prism viewed at an end has a triangular profile.

Answer

Examples: cube face-on → square; cylinder end-on → circle; triangular prism end-on → triangle.

Question multiple-profiles

Give possible solids with these pairs of profiles: rectangle/circle; circle/triangle; rectangle/triangle; trapezium/circle; pentagon/rectangle.

Steps only

A cylinder gives rectangle from the side and circle from an end.

A cone gives circle from above and triangle from a side through its axis.

A triangular prism has triangular end and rectangular side views.

A circular frustum gives a trapezoidal side profile and circular top; a pentagonal prism gives pentagon end and rectangle side.

Answer

Examples: cylinder; cone; triangular prism; circular frustum; pentagonal prism, respectively. Several solids can satisfy some profile pairs.

Question prism-faces-edges-vertices

A prism has congruent n-sided polygon ends. How many faces, edges and vertices does it have?

Steps only

There are 2 polygon faces and n side faces: F=n+2.

There are n edges on each end and n joining edges: E=3n.

There are n vertices on each end: V=2n.

Answer

F=n+2, E=3n, V=2n. For a 10-sided prism: 12 faces, 30 edges and 20 vertices.

Question pyramid-faces-edges-vertices

A pyramid has an n-sided polygon base. How many faces, edges and vertices does it have?

Steps only

There is 1 base and n triangular side faces: F=n+1.

There are n base edges and n edges to the apex: E=2n.

There are n base vertices and one apex: V=n+1.

Answer

F=n+1, E=2n, V=n+1. For a 10-sided base: 11 faces, 20 edges and 11 vertices.

Question cube-net-count

How many distinct nets does a cube have when rotations and flips are treated as the same?

Steps only

The chapter states there are 11 distinct arrangements after rotations and flips are identified.

Answer

11 distinct cube nets.

Question cuboid-nets

Give the face sizes needed in nets for cuboids measuring (i) 5×3×1 cm and (ii) 6×3×2 cm.

Steps only

A cuboid net has two faces of each pair of dimensions.

List the three rectangles for each set of dimensions.

Answer

  • (i) two 5×3, two 5×1 and two 3×1 cm rectangles;
  • (ii) two 6×3, two 6×2 and two 3×2 cm rectangles. Arrange them in a foldable cross-like net.

Question tetrahedron-net

What is a net of a regular tetrahedron, and how many distinct nets are there?

Steps only

A tetrahedron has four congruent triangular faces.

The source identifies two distinct foldable arrangements, up to rotation/flip.

Answer

A net uses four equilateral triangles arranged edge-to-edge so they fold into the four faces. There are 2 distinct nets.

Question cylinder-net

A cylinder has radius r and height h. What shapes and dimensions make its net?

Steps only

The curved surface unfolds to a rectangle of height h.

Its width equals the base circumference 2πr.

The two ends are circles of radius r.

Answer

One rectangle h by 2πr, plus two radius-r circles.

Question cone-net

What pieces appear when a cone is cut along a slant edge and unrolled?

Steps only

The curved surface opens into a sector of radius l, the slant height.

Its arc length equals the base circumference 2πr.

Sector angle=360°×(2πr)/(2πl)=360°r/l.

Answer

The net is a base circle of radius r and a sector of radius l. Its angle is 360°r/l.

Question octahedron-faces

An octahedron is two square pyramids joined at their bases. How many triangular faces does it have?

Steps only

Each square pyramid has 4 triangular side faces.

The two square bases are joined internally and are not exterior faces.

Answer

8 triangular faces. A net consists of eight triangles connected edge-to-edge.

Question sphere-net

Can a sphere be unfolded into a flat paper net with no cuts, gaps, wrinkles or overlaps?

Steps only

A sphere has continuously curved surface and no flat faces.

Flattening it onto a plane without distortion is not possible.

Answer

No. A sphere cannot be flattened into one plane without stretching, tearing, gaps or overlaps.

Question visual-name-backwards

Picture your name as written, then read its letters backwards by looking at the letters rather than saying the name. Try a friend’s name too.

Steps only

Look at the written letters from right to left.

Example: RAVI becomes IVAR when read backwards.

Answer

Answers depend on the names. For example, RAVI read backwards by sight is IVAR.

Question cube-net-options

For each of the six square arrangements (i)–(vi) in the question figure, decide whether it folds to make a cube.

Steps only

Follow which square would cover each of the cube’s six faces.

Reject arrangements that overlap or leave a face uncovered.

ArrangementFolds into a cube?
(i)No
(ii)Yes
(iii)Yes
(iv)Yes
(v)No
(vi)Yes

Answer

  • (i) No;
  • (ii) Yes;
  • (iii) Yes;
  • (iv) Yes;
  • (v) No;
  • (vi) Yes.

Question all-eleven-cube-nets

A cube has 11 different nets when rotations and flips count as the same. Give one representation of all 11.

Steps only

Treat ■ as a square and · as an empty grid position.

Each row of symbols is one row of the net; read from top to bottom.

NetGrid, top row first (■ = square, · = empty)
1■■■·· / ··■■■
2··■■ / ■■■· / ··■·
3■■·· / ·■■■ / ··■·
4■■· / ·■· / ·■■ / ··■
5·■· / ■■· / ·■· / ·■■
6■■· / ·■· / ·■· / ·■■
7·■■ / ■■· / ·■· / ·■·
8···■ / ■■■■ / ···■
9·■· / ■■· / ·■■ / ·■·
10·■·· / ■■■■ / ·■··
11■■·· / ·■■· / ··■■

Answer

The 11 distinct nets are shown in the table. Rotating or reflecting a pattern does not create a new net.

Question tetrahedron-net-options

Which of the four labelled arrangements (i)–(iv) in the figure fold into a regular tetrahedron?

Steps only

A tetrahedron has four triangular faces.

Fold the triangles and check whether all four faces meet without overlap.

ArrangementResult
(i)Valid net
(ii)Not a net
(iii)Valid net
(iv)Not a net

Answer

Arrangements (i) and (iii) are nets. Arrangements (ii) and (iv) do not fold to a tetrahedron.

Question draw-tetrahedron-net

Give one measured net that folds into a regular tetrahedron, then explain how to test it.

Steps only

Draw four equilateral triangles with side 6 cm.

Place one triangle in the centre and attach one along each of its three sides.

Answer

Use four equilateral triangles of side 6 cm: one central triangle with one triangle attached to each side. Cut out and fold along the shared edges.

Question draw-square-pyramid-net

Draw and test one net for a square pyramid.

Steps only

Draw a 4 cm × 4 cm square base.

Attach four congruent isosceles triangles, each with base 4 cm and equal sides 3 cm.

Answer

Use a 4 cm square and four 3–3–4 cm isosceles triangles, one attached to each side of the square.

Question draw-triangular-prism-net

Draw one net with appropriate measurements that folds into a triangular prism.

Steps only

Use two equilateral triangles with side 2 cm.

Use three rectangles measuring 6 cm × 2 cm to join their corresponding sides.

Answer

A strip of three 6 cm × 2 cm rectangles, with an equilateral triangle of side 2 cm attached at each open end, forms a triangular-prism net.

Shortest paths on cuboids

Textbook pages 84–87

Question surface-shortest-method

How can a net help find the shortest path along a cuboid surface?

Steps only

Unfold adjacent faces into one plane.

Mark the start and end points on the unfolded faces.

Draw a straight segment between them; test different valid unfoldings.

Answer

The shortest valid straight-line segment across all possible unfoldings gives a shortest surface route.

Question shortest-ant-laddu

Why does a straight line on an unfolded cuboid net prove that a surface route is shortest?

Steps only

Every surface route through the same sequence of faces becomes a path of equal length on the net.

The straight segment is the shortest planar path between the corresponding endpoints.

Answer

That route is shortest among paths following that unfolding. Compare other valid unfoldings too, since they may yield a shorter route.

Question cuboid-40-path

In one unfolding, the ant and laddu are separated by perpendicular distances 24 cm and 32 cm. Find the straight route length.

Steps only

Use Pythagoras: d²=24²+32².

d²=576+1024=1600.

d=√1600.

Answer

40 cm for this unfolding. To prove it is the overall shortest surface path, compare with other valid unfoldings.

Question unfolding-choice

Why must we test more than one cuboid net when looking for a shortest surface path?

Steps only

Different unfoldings place the two marked points at different planar separations.

Some straight segments may cross outside the unfolded faces and therefore are not valid.

Answer

Choose a valid net where the straight segment stays within the joined face region, and compare the valid candidates.

Projections, views and isometric drawings

Textbook pages 88–102

Question projection-length

If a segment of length l makes angle θ with a plane, what is the length p of its perpendicular projection?

Steps only

The perpendicular component to the plane is removed.

The in-plane component has length p=l cos θ, where θ is the angle between the segment and the plane.

Answer

p≤l. The lengths are equal when the segment is parallel to the plane (θ=0°); a segment perpendicular to the plane projects to a point.

Question square-projection

What shapes can be projections of a square under different orientations?

Steps only

If the square lies parallel to the plane, its projection is a congruent square.

Tilting it can shorten one direction and produce a rectangle or, in a general orientation, a parallelogram.

If viewed edge-on, its projection can collapse to a line segment.

Answer

A square, rectangle/parallelogram, or line segment can occur, depending on orientation.

Question parallelogram-projection

Can a parallel projection of a parallelogram be a quadrilateral that is not a parallelogram?

Steps only

Each pair of opposite sides is parallel before projection.

Parallel projection preserves parallelism.

Answer

No. Its projection remains a parallelogram, though it may become a rectangle, rhombus or line segment in a limiting orientation.

Question regular-polygon-projection

What can be said about a projection of an n-sided regular polygon?

Steps only

Project each vertex and each straight side.

Each projected side is a line segment, and opposite parallel sides (when present) remain parallel.

Answer

The projection is a polygon with at most n sides; some sides or vertices may overlap in special orientations. It need not remain regular.

Question projection-nonunique

Why can different lines or cuboids have the same projection?

Steps only

Projection records only the footprint on one plane.

Depth and hidden structure can change without changing that footprint.

Answer

A single projection loses depth information, so many different solids may share it. Use front, top and side views together to narrow the possibilities.

Question three-standard-views

Which planes produce the front, top and side views?

Steps only

The vertical plane gives the front view.

The horizontal plane gives the top view.

The side plane gives the side view.

Answer

Front = vertical plane; top = horizontal plane; side = side plane.

Question solids-front-top-side

Describe typical front, top and side views of a cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone, prism and pyramid when their axes are upright.

Steps only

First choose a fixed upright position for each solid.

Draw the outline seen straight from the front, directly above, and from the side.

Solid and chosen positionFront viewTop viewSide view
Cube, faces parallel to the view planesSquareSquareSquare
Cuboid, faces parallel to the view planesRectangleRectangleRectangle
Cylinder, circular ends horizontalRectangleCircleRectangle
Cone, circular base horizontal and point upTriangleCircleTriangle
Triangular prism, triangular end facing frontTriangleRectangleRectangle
Square pyramid, square base flat and apex above centreTriangleSquare with diagonals from centre to cornersTriangle

Answer

One consistent set of views is listed in the table.

Question shadow-projection

Why can a distant light perpendicular to a wall cast a shadow like a projection?

Steps only

A nearby light sends rays that spread out, scaling the shadow.

As the light moves far away, its rays become nearly parallel.

Perpendicular parallel rays reproduce the object’s orthogonal projection on the wall.

Answer

The shadow approaches the perpendicular projection as the light source becomes very distant.

Question cube-combination-views

For each of the six cube arrangements in the figure, give its top, front and side views.

Steps only

Treat each cube as one grid cell with a position across, a position in depth, and a height. In a top view, show a cell if any cube is in that position. In a front or side view, show a cell if at least one cube lies along that line of sight.

(i) Front: 3 in a row; top: an L of 3; side: 2 in a row. (ii) Front: an L of 3; top and side: 2 in a column.

(iii) Front: an L of 3; top: 3 in a row; side: 2 high. (iv) Front heights 1,2; top: a 2×2 square; side heights 2,1.

ArrangementFront viewTop viewSide view
(i)3 squares in one rowL of 3 squares2 squares in one row
(ii)L of 3 squares2 squares in one column2 squares in one column
(iii)L of 3 squares3 squares in one row2 squares in one column
(iv)2 bottom; 1 above right2×2 square2 bottom; 1 above left
(v)T of 4 squares2 squares in one row3 squares in one column
(vi)U of 5 squaresU of 5 squares3 bottom; 1 above an end

Answer

Views (i)–(vi): front/top/side are (3-row/L-3/2-row), (L-3/2-column/2-column), (L-3/3-row/2-high), (heights 1,2/2×2/heights 2,1), (T-4/2-row/3-high), and (U-5/U-5/3-bottom with 1 above an end).

Question cube-stack-count

Find the number of cubes in the chapter’s pictured stack.

Steps only

Count complete layers from the top: 1, 3, 6 and 10 cubes.

1+3+6+10=20.

Layer, top to bottomNumber of cubes
Top1
Second3
Third6
Bottom10
Total20

Answer

20 cubes.

Question cube-projection-shapes

What outlines can a cube’s projection have under different orientations?

Steps only

Face parallel to plane → square; tilted positions → rectangle, parallelogram or rhombus.

Balanced on a vertex → hexagon; edge-on limit → line segment.

Answer

The possible outlines include square, rectangle, parallelogram/rhombus and hexagon; a limiting edge-on view is a line.

Question isometric-cube

Why does a cube balanced on a vertex produce an isometric projection?

Steps only

In this orientation, the three perpendicular edge directions are equally inclined to the projection plane.

Their projected lengths are therefore equal.

The visible outline is a regular hexagon when all edges are shown.

Answer

All three families of cube edges have equal projected lengths; the projected outline is a regular hexagon.

Question tetris-four-cubes

Five connected arrangements of four cubes are shown. Are there additional ways to glue four cubes face-to-face? How can you check whether an arrangement is new?

Steps only

Join cubes face-to-face and require the whole shape to stay connected.

Rotate or flip arrangements to compare them.

Do not count two arrangements as different if a rotation makes them coincide.

Answer

Yes. There are 3 additional non-planar arrangements, making 8 distinct face-connected four-cube shapes when rotations are treated as the same.

Question isometric-grid-directions

On isometric paper, how do the three grid directions represent a cube’s axes?

Steps only

Use the vertical grid direction for height.

Use the two slanting directions for length and depth.

Draw equal unit steps along each axis.

Answer

The three parallel edge families represent height, length and depth; equal grid steps represent equal cube-edge lengths.

Question impossible-triangle

Can the textbook’s impossible triangle be built from actual cubes? Why does its drawing illusion work?

Steps only

Compare the three corner connections: each visible segment suggests a different depth relation.

Those depth relations cannot all hold at once in one consistent 3D arrangement.

Answer

No single stack of cubes has all the depicted connections simultaneously. The drawing works because local edges look plausible while the global depth assignments contradict one another.

Question match-objects-to-views

Match each object labelled (a)–(h) with the corresponding set of projections labelled (i)–(viii).

Steps only

Compare the silhouette of each object from the shown directions.

Match corresponding front, top and side outlines.

Object labelProjection set
(a)(viii)
(b)(vi)
(c)(vii)
(d)(i)
(e)(iii)
(f)(iv)
(g)(v)
(h)(ii)

Answer

(a)–(viii), (b)–(vi), (c)–(vii), (d)–(i), (e)–(iii), (f)–(iv), (g)–(v), (h)–(ii).

Question identify-solid-from-views

Which of the labelled solids matches the given top, front and side views?

Steps only

The three silhouettes together determine which candidate can fit.

Check each candidate in all three directions.

Answer

Solid (ii).

Question penrose-staircase-ball

The picture shows a ball on a staircase that seems to loop downhill forever. What is strange about this path, and how can the picture be recreated on an isometric grid?

Steps only

It appears to descend continuously and return to its starting point.

A real staircase cannot do both; the drawing is an optical illusion.

Answer

The loop cannot exist as one consistent 3D staircase. Recreate the local steps on an isometric grid, where the depth directions make the apparent loop possible in the drawing.

Question cone-and-pyramid-same-projection

Name another solid that can have the same triangular projection as the cone shown.

Steps only

A cone viewed from the side has a triangular outline.

An upright pyramid can also have a triangular side outline.

Answer

A pyramid, such as a square pyramid viewed from the front, can have the same triangular outline.

Question torch-shadow-distance

What happens to an object’s shadow as a torch moves closer to or farther from it? Why?

Steps only

Closer torch → larger shadow; farther torch → smaller shadow.

Answer

The shadow is larger when the torch is close and becomes smaller as the torch moves away. Far away, the light rays are nearly parallel, so the shadow approaches the object’s perpendicular projection.

Question eight-cube-letter-views

The figure shows a letter made from eight face-glued cubes. How can you determine its side and top views, and extend it to meet extra view requirements?

Steps only

A front view is the silhouette seen straight on.

For side and top views, look perpendicular to those faces and record which unit squares are visible.

Answer

Read each requested outline from its direction. Keep the given front silhouette, then add or remove cubes by depth to match the top and side outlines; more than one arrangement may work.

Question construct-cubes-from-projections

How can identical cubes be arranged to match the sets of top, front and side projections in the figure?

Steps only

Top view fixes the footprint.

Front and side views give the greatest height in each row and column.

Answer

For each set, place cubes only in footprint positions from the top view. Set each column height so its front and side silhouettes reach the marked heights, then recheck all three views.

Question draw-isometric-cubes

How should the square outlines in the figure be drawn as cubes on an isometric grid?

Steps only

Use the three grid directions for the cube’s three edge directions.

Keep parallel cube edges parallel and use equal grid-step lengths.

Answer

From each square outline, draw the missing depth edges along the two slanting grid directions, using the same number of grid steps as the square’s side. The exact sketches follow the outlines shown in the figure.

Questions follow NCERT’s Ganita Prakash Part II, Chapter 4 ↗, checked on 2026-10-06. Use our original question summaries and worked answers alongside the questions in your textbook.

Diagrams are drawn from mathematical rules. Learnivelle is not affiliated with NCERT.

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