Final answer:
The volume of four equal-sized cubes is unrelated to their different masses. Volume is a measure of space occupied, while mass is the amount of material within an object. Thus, equal-sized cubes have equal volumes regardless of mass.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question about the relationship between volume and mass of four equal-sized cubes asks which statement is true regarding their relationship. To answer this question, we need to understand that volume is a measure of the space an object occupies and is typically measured in cubic units. However, mass measures the amount of material within an object. Therefore, the volume of an item does not change just because the mass changes if the object's size remains constant. The volume of an object is not dependent on its mass; instead, density, which is defined as mass per unit volume, would vary with changes in mass. So, if the cubes are equal-sized, they have the same volume regardless of their masses, making option (c) the volume is unrelated to mass the correct answer.
In physics, it is important to recognize that the volume of a substance is often influenced by external factors such as temperature and pressure, especially in the case of gases. For example, according to Boyle's law, the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume when temperature is kept constant. Conversely, Avogadro's law states that the number of molecules in a gas is directly proportional to the volume of the gas, assuming constant temperature and pressure. However, for solids like the cubes Tam observed, the volume is simply the result of their physical dimensions and is not indicative of their masses.