What does a cylinder look like?

A cylinder is a three-dimensional figure that has two congruent parallel bases, which can either be circles or ellipses, joined by a curved surface. Its shape resembles that of a can of soda or a tissue roll. A cylindrical form can be made by rolling a piece of rectangular paper.

The cylinder is a very common geometrical shape that is seen in everyday items such as garbage cans, canisters, rolled-up carpet, candles, spools of thread and paper cups. It generally has two circular ends, called bases, connected by a rectangular plane. The perpendicular distance between the bases, or the width of the encircling rectangle, is the cylinder’s height.