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UPSC Prelims 2023CSATQuantitative AptitudeMensuration (Cubes and Cuboids)

Q49. A cuboid of dimensions 7cm × 5cm × 3cm is painted red, green and blue colour on each pair of opposite faces of dimensions 7cm × 5cm × 5cm, 5cm × 3cm, 7cm × 3cm respectively. Then the cuboid is cut and separated into various cubes each of side length 1cm.

Which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. There are exactly 15 small cubes with no paint on any face.
2. There are exactly 6 small cubes with exactly two faces, one painted with blue and the other with green.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

A. 1 Only✓ Correct
B. 2 Only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2

Detailed Solution

✓ Correct Answer: Option A

The cuboid has dimensions L=7cm, W=5cm, H=3cm. It is cut into 1cm cubes. Statement 1: 'There are exactly 15 small cubes with no paint on any face.' Unpainted cubes are the inner cubes.

Their dimensions are (L-2) × (W-2) × (H-2). Number of unpainted cubes = (7-2) × (5-2) × (3-2) = 5 × 3 × 1 = 15. So, Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2: 'There are exactly 6 small cubes with exactly two faces, one painted with blue and the other with green.' The faces are painted as follows: 7x5 faces (Red), 5x3 faces (Green), 7x3 faces (Blue).

Cubes with exactly two faces painted blue and green must be along the edges where a blue face and a green face meet. These are the edges of length 3cm (where the 7x3 face meets the 5x3 face).

A cuboid has 4 such edges. For an edge of length 'n' cm, the number of cubes with exactly two painted faces (excluding corner cubes) is (n-2). So, for each 3cm edge, the number of cubes with two painted faces (blue and green) = (3-2) = 1.

Since there are 4 such edges, the total number of such cubes = 4 × 1 = 4. The statement claims there are 6 such cubes, which is incorrect. Therefore, only Statement 1 is correct. This question tests spatial reasoning and visualization of 3D objects, a common type in CSAT.

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