Final answer:
A floor plan, answer C, is a top-down, aerial view of the layout of each room in a building. It represents the arrangement of spaces on a single level, distinguishing it from other types of architectural drawings like sections, elevations, or isometric views.
Step-by-step explanation:
The answer to the student's question, 'Also called a plan view, a _____ is an aerial view of the layout of each room' is C) Floor plan. A floor plan is a scaled diagram of a room or building viewed from above. This type of drawing represents the arrangement of rooms, spaces, and physical features viewed from the top, showing the relationships between the rooms, spaces, and physical features at one level of a structure.
Architects use floor plans to document their designs and to give an overview of the entire floor of a building. Unlike 'section' or 'elevation' views, floor plans do not show the vertical aspects or the external appearances of a building. Contrasting with an 'isometric view', which represents three-dimensions on a two-dimensional plane at angles to give a pictorial representation, a floor plan is strictly a top-down, two-dimensional layout.