Exploring Platonic Solids

Plato (born 428/427 BCE, Athens, Greece-died 348/347, Athens) is one of the world's best known and most widely read and studied philosophers. Plato reasoned that because all objects are three-dimensional, their smallest parts, atoms, must be in the solid shape of regular polyhedrons, which are explainable by mathematics. There are only five regular polyhedrons, and these five geometric solids are commonly called the Platonic Solids. In Plato's view, all things are composed of the five different atoms: earth, air, fire, water and the cosmos(the stars and planets in the sky). Plato assigned each of the five regular solids to each of the five atoms.

Use the applet to explore the five Platonic Solids.

https://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Illuminations/Interactives/Geometric-Solids/