Search Cylinder Educational Resources

A basic curvilinear shape, the cylinder has been studied for thousands of years. Your students will quickly understand the two main components of a right circular cylinder: circular ends perpendicular to a central axis. Teachers and students alike will appreciate the Education.com worksheets and games provided below, which cover details and provide examples of the dimensions of a cylinder.

While scholars have studied the cylinder for a long time, your students might be new to the concept. You can help them immediately understand the basic principles of a cylinder by presenting them with common objects such as a can of soda, or a container of tennis balls.

Cylinder lesson plans should include two important cylinder formulas. To calculate the exact properties of a cylinder, students will need to understand how to use exponents, in addition to following the rules of PEMDAS. You may need to define the variables h and r to students before covering the following:

Volume: V = πr²h

Surface area is divided into three parts:

• the top: πr²
• the bottom: πr²
• the side: 2πrh

There are other, more advanced cylinder formulas, but volume and surface area are great starting points for many students. There are also different types of cylinders: open ends on a cylinder make it an “open cylinder,” while flat surfaces on either end grant the name “solid cylinder.”

If you introduce cylinders to your students using representations such as a barrel or can, they should be able to grasp that cylinders have both an axis and circular ends. From there, you can further break down a cylinder into top, bottom, and side.

Once your students are able to comprehend the surface area of the ends and side, they will only need to make a slight shift in mindset to calculate cylinder volume. Use the Education.com resources above to help your students open up a whole new can of cylinder knowledge.