Cone and Cylinder
Cone and Cylinder
Cone and Cylinder
A cone is a type of geometric shape. There are different kinds of cones. They
all have a flat surface on one side that tapers to a point on the other side.
We will be discussing a right circular cone on this page. This is a cone with a
circle for a flat surface that tapers to a point that is 90 degrees from the center
of the circle.
Terms of a Cone
In order to calculate the surface area and volume of a cone we first need to
understand a few terms:
Radius - The radius is the distance from the center to the edge of the circle at
the end.
Height - The height is the distance from the center of the circle to the tip of the
cone.
Slant - The slant is the length from the edge of the circle to the tip of the cone.
Pi - Pi is a special number used with circles. We will use an abbreviated
version where Pi = 3.14. We also use the symbol to refer to the number pi in
formulas.
Surface Area of a Cone
The surface area of a cone is the surface area of the outside of the cone plus
the surface area of the circle at the end. There is a special formula used to
figure this out.
Surface area = rs + r2
r = radius
s = slant
= 3.14
This is the same as saying (3.14 x radius x slant) + (3.14 x radius x radius)
Example:
What is the surface area of a cone with radius 4 cm and slant 8 cm?
Surface area = rs + r2
= (3.14x4x8) + (3.14x4x4)
= 100.48 + 50.24
= 150.72 cm2
Volume of a Cone
There is special formula for finding the volume of a cone. The volume is how
much space takes up the inside of a cone. The answer to a volume question is
always in cubic units.
Volume = 1/3r2h
The slant of a right circle cone can be figured out using the Pythagorean
Theorem if you have the height and the radius.
For a circular cone with radius R and height H, the formula for
volume becomes
Thus:
Thus:
is
where
range over
, and
, respectively.
where
More generally, a right circular cone with vertex at the origin, axis
, and aperture
vector equation
where
or
where
, and
Cone Shape
r = radius
h = height
s = slant height
V = volume
L = lateral surface area
B = base surface area
A = total surface area
= pi = 3.14159
= square root
About this Calculator
This online calculator will calculate the various properties of a
right circular cone given any 2 known variables. The term
"circular" clarifies this shape as a pyramid with a circular cross
section. The term "right" means that the vertex of the cone is
centered above the base. Using the term "cone" by itself often
commonly means a right circular cone.
* Units: Note that units are shown for convenience but do not
affect the calculations.
The units are in place to give an
indication of the order of the results such as ft, ft 2 or ft3. For
example, if you are starting with mm and you know r and h in
mm, your calculations will result with s in mm, V in mm 3, L in
mm2, B in mm2 and A in mm2.
Below are the standard formulas for a cone. Calculations are
Volume of a cone:
o
V = (1/3)r2h
Slant height of a cone:
o
s = (r2 + h2)
Lateral surface area of a cone:
o
L = rs = r(r2 + h2)
Base surface area of a cone (a circle):
o
B = r2
Total surface area of a cone:
o
A = L + B = rs + r2 = r(s + r) = r(r + (r2 + h2))
Given h, V find r, s, L, A
o
r = [ (3 * v) / ( * h) ]
Where,
r is the radius
h is the height
l is the slant height
The area of the curved (lateral) surface of a cone = rl
Note:
A cone does not have uniform (or congruent) cross-sections. (more about conic section
here)
Example 1: A cone has a radius of 3cm and height of 5cm, find total surface area of the
cone.
Solution:
To begin with we need to find slant height of the cone, which is determined by using
Pythagoras, since the cross section is a right triangle.
l 2 = h 2 + r2
l 2 = 5 2 + 32
l2 = 25 + 9
l = (34)
l = 5.83 cm
And the total surface area of the cone is:
SA = r2 + rl
SA = r (r + l)
SA = 3 (3 + 5.83)
SA = 83.17 cm2
Therefore, the total surface area of the cone is 83.17cm2
Example 2: The total surface area of a cone is 375 square inches. If its slant height is
four times the radius, then what is the base diameter of the cone? Use = 3.
Solution:
The total surface area of a cone = rl + r2 = 375 inch2
Slant height: l = 4 radius = 4r
Substitute l = 4r and = 3
3 r 4 r + 3 r2 = 375
12r2 + 3r2 = 375
15r2 = 375
r2 = 25
r = 25
r=5
So the base radius of the cone is 5 inch.
And the base diameter of the cone = 2 radius = 2 5 = 10 inch.
Example 3: What is the total surface area of a cone if its radius = 4cm and height = 3 cm.
Solution:
As mentioned earlier the formula for the surface area of a cone is given by:
SA = r2 + rl
SA = r(r + l)
As in the previous example the slant can be determined using Pythagoras:
l 2 = h 2 + r2
l 2 = 3 2 + 42
l2 = 9 + 16
l=5
Insert l = 5 we will get:
SA = r(r + l)
SA = 3.14 4 (4+5)
SA = 113.04 cm2
Example 4: The slant height of a cone is 20cm. the diameter of the base is 15cm. Find the
curved surface area of cone.
Solution:
Given that,
Slant height: l = 20cm
Diameter: d = 15cm
Radius: r = d/2 = 15/2 = 7.5cm
Example 5: Height and radius of the cone is 5 yard and 7 yard. Find the lateral surface
area of the given cone.
Solution:
Lateral surface area of the cone = rl
Step 1:
Slant height of the cone:
l 2 = h 2 + r2
l 2 = 7 2 + 52
l2 = 49 + 25
l = 8.6
Step 2: Lateral surface area:
LSA = rl
LSA = 3.14 7 8.6
LSA =189.03 yd2
So, the lateral surface area of the cone = 189.03 squared yard.
Example 6: A circular cone is 15 inches high and the radius of the base is 20 inches What
is the lateral surface area of the cone?
Solution:
The lateral surface area of cone is given by:
LSA = r l
LSA =3.14 20 15
LSA = 942 inch2
Example 7: Find the total surface area of a cone, whose base radius is 3 cm and the
perpendicular height is 4 cm.
Solution:
Given that:
r = 3 cm
h = 4 cm
To find the total surface area of the cone, we need slant height of the cone, instead the
perpendicular height.
The slant height l can be found by using Pythagoras theorem.
l 2 = h 2 + r2
l 2 = 3 2 + 42
l2 = 9 + 16
l=5
The total surface area of the cone is therefore:
SA = r(r + l)
SA = 3.14 3 (3+5)
SA = 75.36 cm2
Recall that a cone can be broken down into two parts - the top part with slanted
sides, and the circular disc making the base. We can find the total surface area
by adding these together.
by
The slant height is the distance along the cone surface from the top to the
bottom rim. If you are given the perpendicular height, you can find the slant
height using the Pythagorean Theorem. For more see Slant height of a cone.
By adding these together we get the final formula:
This can be
simplified by combining some terms, but we usually keep it this way because
sometimes we want the area of each piece separately. (See the example below).
Example
Find the area of roof material needed to cover the conical roof shown below.
circular base, we only need the area of the top, sloping part of the cone.
From the above we see that the area of of the sloping top is given by
The radius r of the cone at its base is 3ft (half the diameter), and
the slant height s is 12ft. Substituting these into the formula we get
Things to try
Terms of a Cylinder
In order to calculate the surface area and volume of a cylinder we first need to
understand a few terms:
Radius - The radius is the distance from the center to the edge of the circles at
each end.
Pi - Pi is a special number used with circles. We will use an abbreviated
version where Pi = 3.14. We also use the symbol to refer to the number pi in
formulas.
Height - The height or length of the cylinder.
Surface Area of a Cylinder
The surface area of a cylinder is the surface area of both circles at each end
plus the surface area of the outside of the tube. There is a special formula used
to figure this out.
r = radius
h = height
= 3.14
This is the same as saying (2 x 3.14 x radius x radius) + (2 x 3.14 x radius x
height)
Example:
What is the surface area of a cylinder with radius 3 cm and height 5 cm?
Surface area = 2r2 + 2rh
= (2x3.14x3x3) + (2x3.14x3x5)
= 56.52 + 94.2
= 150.72 cm2
Volume of a Cylinder
There is special formula for finding the volume of a cylinder. The volume is
how much space takes up the inside of a cylinder. The answer to a volume
question is always in cubic units.
Volume = r2h
r = radius
h = height
V = volume
L = lateral surface area
T = top surface area
B = base surface area
A = total surface area
= pi = 3.14159
= square root
About this Calculator
This online calculator will calculate the various properties of a
cylinder given 2 known values. This is a right circular cylinder
where the top and bottom surfaces are parallel but it is
commonly referred to as a "cylinder".
* Units: Note that units are shown for convenience but do not
affect the calculations.
The units are in place to give an
indication of the order of the results such as ft, ft 2 or ft3. For
example, if you are starting with mm and you know r and h in
mm, your calculations will result with V in mm 3, L in mm2, T in
mm2, B in mm2 and A in mm2.
Below are the standard formulas for a cylinder. Calculations are
based on algebraic manipulation of these standard formulas.
Cylinder Formulas in terms of r and h:
Calculate volume of a cylinder:
o
V = r2h
Cylinder Calculations:
Use the following additional formulas along with the formulas
above.
or