How to Calculate the Liquid Volume of a Cylinder

A cylinder is a tube shape that, when you break it down, is basically a series of circles stacked on one another. Rather than trying to figure out just how long those circles are, combine them into one measurement. Finding the volume of liquid in a cylinder means finding the area of the circular base of the cylinder and multiplying it by the depth of the liquid in the cylinder.

Things You'll Need

• Calipers
• Ruler

Instructions

1. Measure across the widest part of the base of the cylinder. This is the diameter.

2. Divide the diameter by 2. The result is the radius of the base.

3. Square the radius, or in other words, multiply the radius by itself.

4. Multiply the result by 3.14. If you have a calculator, enter the result, press the multiplication sign and press the pi key to use the full value of pi. This result is the area of the circle at the end of the cylinder.

5. Measure the height of the liquid in the cylinder.

6. Multiply the height of the liquid in the cylinder by the area of the base. This will give you the volume of the liquid in the cylinder.

Tips & Warnings

• Calculating the partial liquid volume of a horizontal cylinder requires a different, more complex equation (see the Resource link).

References

• California Aquaculture: Volume of a Cylindrical Tank
• Wisc-Online: Measuring Volume Using a Graduated Cylinder

Resources

• WolframMathWorld: Horizontal Cylindrical Segment