(r is radius of circle). (h is the height of the cylinder, r is the radius of the top) Surface Area = Areas of top and bottom +Area of the side Surface Area = 2(Area of top) + (perimeter of top)* height Surface Area = 2(pi r 2) + (2 pi r)* h In words, the easiest way is to think of a can.he area of a rectangle is the product of the two sides. One side is the height of the can, the other side is the perimeter of the circle, since the label wraps once around the can. So the area of the rectangle is (2 pi r)* h. Add those two parts together and you have the formula for the surface area of a cylinder.