Cylinder and Cone Experiment

Cylinder and Cone with Rice

Class was fun today! We discussed formulas for a right prism, pyramid, cylinder, cone, and sphere.  The two that I chose are the cylinder and the cone.  The equation for the cylinder is

V

=

π

r

2

h  

and the cone is 

V

=

π

r

2

h

3

The purpose of this activity was to develop the relationship between the volume of a cylinder and its related cone. First, we compared the bases and heights of each one and how they relate to each other which was that they were identical in base and height.  Then, we had to estimate how many of the cones would fill the cylinder up with rice.  My group guessed that two cones of the rice would fill up the cylinder and we were wrong.  The correct answer was that three cones would fill up the cylinder with rice.  After that, we had to write a ratio that compared the volume of the cone to the volume of the cylinder which was 3:1.  The last step was to write a rule or formula to determine the volume of a cone based on the formula for the volume of a cylinder which we wrote as :V=πr2h/3.     

Sources:

Cylinder with cone and rice, Mesa Community College. Personal photograph by Miranda Tachine-Benally. 2016.

Tachine-Benally, Miranda. Chapter 13- Concepts of Measurement. 03 Oct. 2016. Pyramids and Cone Worksheet. Mesa Community College. Mesa.