Question

How do the lateral and total surface area of a cylinder differ ?

Answer 1

The lateral surface area of a cylinder is just the long side connecting the bases, whereas the total surface area includes both the lateral surface area and area of the two circular bases.

$SA_l_a_t=2 \pi rh$ (Imagine a rectangle with the circumfrence of the base as one side and the height as the other being folded around)

$SA = 2 \pi rh + 2 \pi r^2$ (Plus the area of two circles)

The literal difference between surface areas would be the two bases 2πr² if you need that.