Overview & background
A graduated (measuring) cylinder is the standard tool for measuring liquid volumes with reasonable accuracy — far better than a beaker, though not as exact as a volumetric flask or pipette. Its tall, narrow bore makes the meniscus easy to read against the printed scale, and a hexagonal foot stops the slender cylinder from tipping.
Cylinders are made to defined accuracy classes: Class A is the higher tolerance and comes with calibration data, Class B is general-purpose. They are calibrated 'to contain' (TC) the stated volume.
