How to find the total surface area of a cylinder?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for the method to calculate the total surface area of a cylinder. This involves understanding the formula for the surface area, which includes both the lateral surface area and the area of the two circular bases.
Answer
The total surface area of a cylinder is given by the formula $A = 2\pi rh + 2\pi r^2$.
Answer for screen readers
The total surface area of a cylinder is given by the formula:
$$ A = 2\pi rh + 2\pi r^2 $$
Steps to Solve
- Identify the formula for the surface area of a cylinder
The total surface area $A$ of a cylinder can be calculated using the formula:
$$ A = 2\pi rh + 2\pi r^2 $$
Where:
- $r$ is the radius of the circular base
- $h$ is the height of the cylinder
- Calculate the lateral surface area
The lateral surface area (the area around the sides) of the cylinder is given by:
$$ \text{Lateral Surface Area} = 2\pi rh $$
You can substitute the values of $r$ and $h$ into this equation to find the lateral surface area.
- Calculate the area of the circular bases
The area of one circular base is given by:
$$ \text{Area of one base} = \pi r^2 $$
Since there are two bases, the total area for both bases is:
$$ \text{Area of both bases} = 2\pi r^2 $$
- Combine both areas to find the total surface area
Finally, add the lateral surface area and the area of the circular bases to find the total surface area:
$$ A = 2\pi rh + 2\pi r^2 $$
- Plug in the values
Insert the specific values for $r$ (radius) and $h$ (height) into the formula to find the total surface area.
The total surface area of a cylinder is given by the formula:
$$ A = 2\pi rh + 2\pi r^2 $$
More Information
The surface area formula for a cylinder combines both the curved surface and the area of the two bases. This geometry concept is essential in various applications, such as calculating materials needed for containers and understanding three-dimensional shapes.
Tips
- Forgetting to include both circular bases when calculating the total area.
- Confusing radius ($r$) and diameter ($d$) when calculating area. Remember that $d = 2r$.
- Not using the same units for radius and height, which can lead to incorrect area calculations.
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