Question

What is the relationship between the radius and height of a cylinder when calculating its volume?

Ask by Martin Munoz. in South Africa
Dec 30,2024

Real Tutor Solution

Tutor-Verified Answer

Answer

The volume of a cylinder depends on both its radius and height. The formula is \( V = \pi r^2 h \). This means the volume increases quadratically with the radius and linearly with the height.

Solution

The volume \( V \) of a cylinder is determined by both its **radius** \( r \) and its **height** \( h \) using the following formula: \[ V = \pi r^2 h \] ### Breakdown of the Relationship: 1. **Radius (\( r \))**: - The radius appears squared (\( r^2 \)) in the formula, indicating that the volume increases **quadratically** as the radius increases. - **Implication**: Doubling the radius results in the volume increasing by a factor of four (\( 2^2 = 4 \)). 2. **Height (\( h \))**: - The height is a linear factor in the formula. - **Implication**: Doubling the height results in the volume doubling as well. ### Direct Proportionality: - **Volume and Radius**: \( V \propto r^2 \) - **Volume and Height**: \( V \propto h \) This means: - If you **increase the radius**, the volume increases by the square of the change in radius, assuming the height remains constant. - If you **increase the height**, the volume increases linearly with the height, assuming the radius remains constant. ### Practical Example: - **Given**: Radius \( r = 3 \) units, Height \( h = 5 \) units. - **Volume**: \( V = \pi \times 3^2 \times 5 = 45\pi \) cubic units. ### Visualization: Imagine two cylinders: - **Cylinder A**: Radius \( r \), Height \( h \) - **Cylinder B**: Radius \( 2r \), Height \( h \) **Volume of Cylinder B**: \[ V_B = \pi (2r)^2 h = \pi \times 4r^2 \times h = 4V_A \] Cylinder B has four times the volume of Cylinder A because its radius is doubled. ### Conclusion: When calculating the volume of a cylinder: - **Radius and height are both crucial**, with the radius affecting the volume exponentially (quadratically) and the height affecting it linearly. - Understanding their relationship helps in optimizing or scaling cylindrical shapes for various applications, such as storage tanks, pipes, and more. **Formula Recap**: \[ V = \pi r^2 h \] This formula succinctly captures how the radius and height of a cylinder contribute to its overall volume.

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Beyond the Answer

The volume of a cylinder is calculated using the formula \( V = \pi r^2 h \), where \( V \) is the volume, \( r \) is the radius, and \( h \) is the height. This means that the volume increases linearly with height while the area of the base (which is \( \pi r^2 \)) grows with the square of the radius. So, if you want to increase the volume significantly, either increase the radius (which has a larger impact due to squaring) or the height! When working with volumes, it’s easy to mix up the radius and height, leading to common mistakes. A frequent error is forgetting to square the radius while calculating the base area, which drastically underestimates the overall volume of the cylinder. Always double-check your calculations and keep the formula handy to avoid confusion!

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