Final answer:
Catherine the Great did not abolish serfdom; she maintained it as it was. It was Tsar Alexander II who emancipated serfs in 1861, a process which created new challenges such as requiring domestic serfs to buy land, often at prohibitive costs, leading to a negative outcome where domestic serfs ended up with no land and no place to live.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student asked how Catherine the Great changed the institution of serfdom. The correct answer is b. Trick question! She left it just like it had been. Catherine the Great did make some small reforms, but she did not abolish serfdom during her reign. Instead, it was Tsar Alexander II who enacted the emancipation of serfs in 1861. This emancipation, however, did not necessarily improve the lives of the serfs immediately, as although they were freed, they were required to buy the land they had worked on, often at high prices. Moreover, domestic serfs, or those who had been household servants, received no land after emancipation.
In contrast, the negative result of the abolition of Russian serfdom, as outlined in the provided information, is a. Domestic serfs received no land and no longer had a place to live.