Mathematical shapes are abundantly found in our surroundings and environment. It is because of the presence of these peculiar and distinct shapes that mankind questioned and studied the various properties and distinct qualities of these shapes. Today, we are going to learn about one more such three-dimensional figure of a cylinder.
While you might be observing a cylinder everywhere, it is important to understand it as a mathematical figure. Observing the surroundings and seeing these real-life examples scattered all around, helps in building familiarity, and storing the properties and the characteristic features of these mathematical shapes distinctly in memory becomes easy. Hence, check out the below-mentioned examples of cylinders in our day-to-day life for an engaging time in the classroom.
Understanding the distinct properties of cylinder with real-life examples
From various angles to shapes like squares, real-world examples give students specific ways to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in the classroom. Students learning may be more meaningful if real-world examples and challenges are used in the classroom.
1. Light a Candle
From giving light to also being used to spread a pleasant fresh aroma around, candles are used in many places. Mathematically speaking, candles are a good example of a cylinder as they have no vertex. They also have two flat circular bases, one curved surface, and two curved edges, making them a perfect cylinder shape. Next time when you use a candle, make sure you know it is a cylinder in the mathematical concept!
2. Watch a Battery Cell
TV Remotes, toys, clocks, and various gadgets all work on a battery cell. The battery cell is a packed container of abundant energy used in so many electronic products. Look at this battery cell carefully and now observe it mathematically. Even a battery cell has two circular bases. It has absolutely no vertices, and it has one curved surface with two curved edges. What does this remind you of? Exactly, this abundant power-packed cell is actually a cylinder!
3. Roll the Toilet Paper
Observe how toilet paper is rolled around on a cardboard roll. Look how this roll has no vertex. You will observe that it has one curved surface and two circular bases. On a mathematical note, this eventually classifies the roll to become a good example of a cylinder!
4. Drink from a Soda Can
How refreshing and energizing your favorite soda can be! Have you noticed that the mixture of soda is actually pressurized and packed in a bottle or a can which is a cylinder? Observe the can, this can have two circular bases. The can have one wide circular curve which flaunts the brand’s name on it. It has no vertex and no edges. This makes the soda can a cylinder and in fact, every other can is a cylinder in itself.
5. Seen a Test Tube?
Test tubes are mostly used in all types of scientific labs, be it in chemistry or in biology, they are one of the most important pieces of equipment present in the laboratory. Look at the test tube carefully and observe how it has no edges. It also has no corners or vertex. It has two circular bases, one is closed and the other is open at another end. This makes the test tube a very good example of a cylinder and it expands its use in the field of mathematics as well!
6. Hear the Drums
Concerts are always fun, especially the drummers. Drums are a great example of a cylinder. Have you seen how they have two circular bases at the side? Guess what? A cylinder also has similar properties. No edges or vertex is present and it has a continuous curve that is complete. Who would have thought a cylinder would make people dance with joy and enthusiasm in the form of a drum.
7. Sight the Tanks
Water tanks, gas tanks, or oil tanks are indeed a big boon to mankind as they store a great amount of necessary matter in them for a long period of time. These tanks are a perfect example of a cylinder. Do you know how? They have two circular bases, no edges, and a continuous curve! The usefulness and variation in the shape of the cylinder are indeed surprising.
8. Fill the Bucket
Imagine your life without a bucket to carry your water, can’t imagine it, right? Buckets are helpful everywhere. These buckets are in terms of mathematics; cylinders! They have no edges or corners or the presence of a vertex. They have two circular bases. Like test tubes, they have one open and one closed circular base. They also consist of a continuous curve. Such properties make them a very useful example of a cylinder!
9. Observe a Gas Cylinder
When it comes to cylinders, how can you forget and neglect the one thing present in almost every house; a gas cylinder! Delicious hot food cannot be prepared nor served easily in the absence of this gas cylinder. The name in itself has a cylinder, this you know obviously is an example of a cylinder. Let’s look at it mathematically, a gas cylinder has no vertex, it has one continuous curve and it has two circular bases which categorize it into being a cylinder!
10. Collect Food Containers
Tuna cans, candies, marbles, chocolates, pet food, and all other types of food are often sold in cylindrical containers. Also, many people store snacks in metal steel containers which are cylindrical in shape. These containers have two wide circular bases. They have a continuous curve and they have no edges. They also have no vertex. Mathematically speaking, this makes these containers fit into an example of a real-life useful cylinder by default.
Conclusion
Cylinders, such a powerful and useful shape, have a wide range of uses and variety is present in our environment. These real-life examples of cylinders can help students learn through observation and see the various types of variations present naturally around them. It guides them in encoding the various mathematical properties easily and helps them in recalling them efficiently later on when needed. Students also realize the practical application of geometry at work and see how useful and important is the shape of the cylinder in everyday life.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,