2. Eric needs to find the area of the base of a cylinder. Which formula should he use? A. \( 2 \pi r \) B. \( 2 \pi r h \) C. \( \pi r^{2} \) D. None of the above

To find the area of the base of a cylinder, Eric should use the formula \( \pi r^{2} \) (option C). This formula calculates the area of a circle, which is the shape of the cylinder's base, where \( r \) is the radius of the circle. When using this formula, remember that the radius is half the diameter of the circular base. If Eric knows the diameter instead, he can simply divide it by 2 to find the radius before plugging it into the area formula. This little trick will save him time and ensure he gets the correct area!