Question

In art class, Anna made a rainbow out of her clay. The next day, Anna molded her rainbow into one big ball of clay. Has the mass of the clay creation changed? Explain your answer.

A. Yes, the mass has changed because the clay molecules have been compressed.
B. No, the mass remains the same as clay is conserved during molding.
C. It depends on whether Anna added or removed clay while molding.
D. Mass can change temporarily due to moisture loss but will return to the original mass.

Answer 1

The mass of Anna's clay creation does not change when it's molded from a rainbow shape into a ball, based on the law of conservation of mass, which states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a closed system.

Step-by-step explanation:

The mass of Anna's clay rainbow will remain the same when she molds it into a different shape. This is because the law of conservation of mass states that mass in a closed system (like Anna's lump of clay) cannot be created or destroyed by physical transformations such as molding. Unless clay is added or removed, or unless there's a chemical reaction, the mass stays constant. Therefore, whether Anna's clay is in the form of a rainbow or a ball does not change the amount of matter it contains. The mass of the clay creation would not change as long as no additional clay is mixed in or no part of the clay is removed during the process.