How to find the surface area of a cylinder

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GRE Quantitative Reasoning › How to find the surface area of a cylinder

Questions 1 - 8
1

Quantitative Comparison

Quantity A: Surface area of a cylinder that is 2 feet high and has a radius of 4 feet

Quantity B: Surface area of a box that is 3 feet wide, 2 feet high, and 4 feet long

Quantity A is greater.

Quantity B is greater.

The two quantities are equal.

The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.

Explanation

Quantity A: SA of a cylinder = 2_πr_2 + 2_πrh_ = 2_π *_ 16 + 2_π_ * 4 * 2 = 48_π_

Quantity B: SA of a rectangular solid = 2_ab_ + 2_bc_ + 2_ac_ = 2 * 3 * 2 + 2 * 2 * 4 + 2 * 3 * 4 = 52

48_π_ is much larger than 52, because π is approximately 3.14.

2

A right circular cylinder of volume has a height of 8.

Quantity A: 10

Quantity B: The circumference of the base

Quantity B is greater

Quantity A is greater

The two quantities are equal

The relationship cannot be determined from the information provided.

Explanation

The volume of any solid figure is . In this case, the volume of the cylinder is and its height is , which means that the area of its base must be . Working backwards, you can figure out that the radius of a circle of area is . The circumference of a circle with a radius of is , which is greater than .

3

What is the surface area of a cylinder with a radius of 17 and a height of 3?

2000

2205

3107

1984

2137

Explanation

We need the formula for the surface area of a cylinder: SA = 2_πr_2 + 2_πrh_. This formula has π in it, but the answer choices don't. This means we must approximate π. None of the answers are too close to each other so we could really even use 3 here, but it is safest to use 3.14 as an approximate value of π.

Then SA = 2 * 3.14 * 172 + 2 * 3.14 * 17 * 3 ≈ 2137

4

Quantitative Comparison

Quantity A: The volume of a cylinder with a radius of 3 and a height of 4

Quantity B: 3 times the volume of a cone with a radius of 3 and a height of 4

Quantity A is greater.

Quantity B is greater.

The two quantities are equal.

The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.

Explanation

There is no need to do the actual computations here to find the two volumes. The volume of a cone is exactly 1/3 the volume of a cylinder with the same height and radius. That means the two quantities are equal. The formulas show this relationship as well: volume of a cone = πr_2_h/3 and volume of a cylinder = πr_2_h.

5

What is the surface area of a cylinder that has a diameter of 6 inches and is 4 inches tall?

Explanation

The formula for the surface area of a cylinder is ,

where is the radius and is the height.

6

The area of the base of a circular right cylinder is quadrupled. By what percentage is the outer face increased by this change?

300%

400%

250%

200%

100%

Explanation

The base of the original cylinder would have been πr2, and the outer face would have been 2πrh, where h is the height of the cylinder.

Let's represent the original area with A, the original radius with r, and the new radius with R: therefore, we know πR2 = 4A, or πR2 = 4πr2. Solving for R, we get R = 2r; therefore, the new outer face of the cylinder will have an area of 2πRh or 2π2rh or 4πrh, which is double the original face area; thus the percentage of increase is 100%. (Don't be tricked into thinking it is 200%. That is not the percentage of increase.)

7

A cylinder has a radius of 4 and a height of 8. What is its surface area?

Explanation

This problem is simple if we remember the surface area formula!

8

What is the surface area of a cylinder with a radius of 6 and a height of 9?

180_π_

96π

64_π_

108_π_

225_π_

Explanation

surface area of a cylinder

= 2_πr_2 + 2_πrh_

= 2_π_ * 62 + 2_π_ * 6 *9

= 180_π_

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