A student measured the mass of ice in a glass container with a tight lid. He allowed the ice to melt and measured the mass of the container, its lid, and its contents again. What conclusion could he draw based on the masses he measured?

Question

A student measured the mass of ice in a glass container with a tight lid. He allowed the ice to melt and measured the mass of the container, its lid, and its contents again. What conclusion could he draw based on the masses he measured?
  
A. No matter how tight the lid is, some mass is lost when a solid melts.
  
B. The liquid formed from a melted solid has less mass than the solid has.
  
C. The liquid formed from a melted solid has the same mass as the solid has. 
  
D. The liquid formed from a melted solid has a greater mass than the solid has.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The correct conclusion the student could draw based on the masses he measured is:

C. The liquid formed from a melted solid has the same mass as the solid has.

When ice melts into water, the mass remains the same, assuming there is no loss of water (for example, through evaporation or spillage) since the container is tightly sealed. The law of conservation of mass states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a closed system during a change of state.