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How to Calculate Cubic Feet of a Cylinder

A cylinder is a solid object that has two identical circular ends connected by a curved piece in the middle. A cylinder has a circular cross section that is identical throughout the object. Some examples of a cylinder are a can, a barrel with straight sides (such as a 55 gallon drum), a propane tank and an oil storage tank. If you are using a cylindrical object for storage of a product, you can figure the cubic feet capacity of the cylinder using a simple mathematical equation.

Things You'll Need

Measuring tape
Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Use a measuring tape and measure across one of the ends of the cylinder at its widest point to get the diameter in inches.
- 2
  Divide the diameter in half to get the radius. (For example: if your diameter is 12 inches, the radius would be 6 inches.)
- 3
  Square the radius measurement. (For example: 6 x 6 = 36)
- 4
  Multiply the squared radius by 3.14. (For example: 36 x 3.14 = 113.04 square inches)
- 5
  Measure the length of the cylinder with a measuring tape. Multiply this measurement by the result obtained in the above step. (Example: if the length of your cylinder is 24 inches, then 24 x 113.04 = 2712.96 square inches)
- 6
  Divide the square inch volume of the cylinder by 1728 to get the cubic feet of the cylinder. (For example: 2712.96 / 1728 = 1.57 cubic feet)

Numerology