
A right circular cylinder is a
cylinder
A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...
whose
generatrices are perpendicular to the bases. Thus, in a right circular cylinder, the
generatrix and the height have the same measurements.
It is also less often called a cylinder of revolution, because it can be obtained by rotating a rectangle of sides
and
around one of its sides. Fixing
as the side on which the revolution takes place, we obtain that the side
, perpendicular to
, will be the measure of the
radius
In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...
of the cylinder.
In addition to the right circular cylinder, within the study of spatial geometry there is also the ''
oblique circular cylinder'', characterized by not having the geratrices perpendicular to the bases.
Elements of the right circular cylinder
Bases: the two
parallel and
congruent
Congruence may refer to:
Mathematics
* Congruence (geometry), being the same size and shape
* Congruence or congruence relation, in abstract algebra, an equivalence relation on an algebraic structure that is compatible with the structure
* In modu ...
circles of the bases;
Axis: the
line determined by the two
points
A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to:
Mathematics
* Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
of the centers of the cylinder's bases;
Height: the distance between the two
planes of the cylinder's bases;
Generatrices: the line segments parallel to the axis and that have ends at the points of the bases'
circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...
s.
Lateral and total areas

The lateral surface of a right cylinder is the meeting of the generatrices.
It can be obtained by the product between the length of the circumference of the base and the height of the cylinder. Therefore, the lateral surface area is given by:
*
.
Where:
:
represents the lateral surface area of the cylinder;
:
is approximately 3.14;
:
is the distance between the lateral surface of the cylinder and the axis, i.e. it is the value of the radius of the base;
:
is the height of the cylinder;
:
is the length of the circumference of the base, since
, that is,
.
Note that in the case of the right circular cylinder, the height and the generatrix have the same measure, so the lateral area can also be given by:
:
.
The area of the base of a cylinder is the area of a circle (in this case we define that the circle has a radius with measure
):
:
.
To calculate the total area of a right circular cylinder, you simply
add the lateral area to the area of the two bases:
:
.
Replacing
and
, we have:
:
or even
:
.
Volume

Through
Cavalieri's principle
In geometry, Cavalieri's principle, a modern implementation of the method of indivisibles, named after Bonaventura Cavalieri, is as follows:
* 2-dimensional case: Suppose two regions in a plane are included between two parallel lines in that pl ...
, which defines that if two solids of the same height, with congruent base areas, are positioned on the same plane, such that any other plane parallel to this plane sections both solids, determining from this section two
polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain.
The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
s with the same area,
then the volume of the two solids will be the same, we can determine the volume of the cylinder.
This is because the volume of a cylinder can be obtained in the same way as the volume of a
prism with the same height and the same area of the base. Therefore, simply multiply the area of the base by the height:
:
.
Since the area of a circle of radius
, which is the base of the cylinder, is given by
it follows that:
:
or even
:
.
Equilateral cylinder
The equilateral cylinder is characterized by being a right circular cylinder in which the diameter of the base is equal to the value of the height (geratrix).
Then, assuming that the radius of the base of an equilateral cylinder is
then the diameter of the base of this cylinder is
and its height is
.
Its lateral area can be obtained by replacing the height value by
:
:
.
The result can be obtained in a similar way for the total area:
:
.
For the equilateral cylinder it is possible to obtain a simpler formula to calculate the volume. Simply substitute the radius and height measurements defined earlier into the volume formula for a straight circular cylinder:
:
Meridian section
It is the intersection between a plane containing the axis of the cylinder and the cylinder.
In the case of the right circular cylinder, the meridian section is a rectangle, because the generatrix is perpendicular to the base. The equilateral cylinder, on the other hand, has a square meridian section because its height is congruent to the diameter of the base.
Examples of objects with a right circular cylinder shape
File:Black cat sitting on a round straw bale.jpg, Bale of straw.
File:Titanzylinder.jpg, Titanium cylinder.
File:Pillar candles 09.jpg, Candle.
See also
{{Portal, Mathematics
*
Cylinder
A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...
*
Geometry
Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
*
Solid geometry
Solid geometry or stereometry is the geometry of Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional Euclidean space (3D space).
A solid figure is the region (mathematics), region of 3D space bounded by a two-dimensional closed surface; for example, a ...
References
Bibliography
* Balestri, Rodrigo (2016). ''Matemática: interação e tecnologia'' (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). São Paulo: Leya.
* ''Conexões com a matemática'' (in Portuguese) (1 ed.). São Paulo: Moderna. 2010.
* Dolce, Osvaldo; Pompeo, José Nicolau (2013). ''Fundamentos da matemática elementar 9: geometria plana'' (in Portuguese) (9 ed.). São Paulo: Atual.
* Dolce, Osvaldo; Pompeo, José Nicolau (2005). ''Fundamentos da matemática elementar, 10: geometria espacial, posição e métrica'' (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Atual.
* Giovanni, José Ruy; Giovanni Jr., José Ruy; Bonjorno, José Roberto (2011). ''Matemática fundamental: uma nova abordagem'' (in Portuguese). São Paulo: FTD.
* Paiva, Manoel (2004). ''Matemática'' (in Portuguese) (1 ed.). São Paulo: Moderna.
Euclidean solid geometry
Geometry
Solids
Multi-dimensional geometry
Orthogonality