Question

Hugh has a large block of clay. He divides the clay in half, gives one half to his friend, and keeps the other half. What happened to the mass, volume, and density of the clay block that Hugh has after he cut it in half?

Answer 1

Hugh's halved clay block now has half the mass and volume of the original but maintains the same density since both mass and volume decreased proportionally.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Hugh divided a large block of clay in half and kept one of those halves, the mass and volume of his portion of clay were effectively reduced by half compared to the original block. Since density is defined as mass per unit volume, the density of Hugh's clay remains unchanged as the mass and volume are both reduced by the same proportion. In physics, when dealing with objects of the same material (which implies the same density), changing the size or shape of an object does not affect its density, as long as the material is homogeneous and the volume and mass change proportionally.