Volume of Cylinders

What is a Cylinder?

• 3 dimensional geometric shape • Has length, width, and height• Circles of the same size stacked on top of

each other• A cylinder is similar to a prism, but its two

bases are circles, not polygons. Also, the sides of a cylinder are curved, not flat.

Why are cylinders important?• Sustenance: Used to store liquids and potato

chips • Shelter: Support posts in buildings are made of

cylinders • Transportation and Industry: Pistons in

automobile engine are small cylinders • Economics: Coins are cylinders• Sports: hockey pucks and tennis ball containers

Fuel and Chemicals• The drums (or cylinders) are

typically made of steel with a ribbed outer wall to improve rigidity and durability. They are often moved by tilting, then rolling along the base, which is designed especially for that purpose. The drums are commonly used for transporting oils and fuels, but can be used for storing various chemicals as well.

Automobile Engine

• 4 Cylinder Inline Engine

• 6 Cylinder-V Shaped • 4 Cylinder Flat

• The core of the engine is the cylinder, with the piston moving up and down inside the cylinder. Most cars have more than one cylinder (four, six and eight cylinders are common). In a multi-cylinder engine, the cylinders usually are arranged in one of three ways: inline, V or flat (also known as horizontally opposed or boxer), as shown in the following figures.

Pools

• Volume of pools• The amount of chemicals added is

determined by the size of the pool. • To Calculate a the size of a circular or oval

pool you must use the volume forumla

Hockey• Originally, hockey players weren’t

picky about what they used as a puck: a piece of coal, an apple, a knot of wood. Eventually, a rubber ball similar to a lacrosse ball was used.

• In the 1860s, when games started to be played in Montreal’s indoor Victoria Rink, the ball broke so many windows that the fed-up arena manager grabbed it, sliced off the top and bottom and threw what was left back on the ice. The players quickly discovered that the new shape reduced bouncing and made passing easier.

Parts of a cylinder

How to calculate the volume

• Find the area of the circle • Find the height

V = π r2 h

remember: the answer is always in cubic unitsin3, ft3, mi3

• Let's find the volume of this can of potato chips.

• We'll use 3.14 for pi. Then we perform the calculations like this:

• That's a lot of potato chips!

Interactive Cylinder

• Check your cylinder volume answers here.