In the scenario where Gabriel accidentally drops a glass and it shatters, the following statements describe the physical change that has occurred:
- The shape of the glass has changed. - The glass has broken into pieces, thus its shape is no longer intact.
- The size of the glass has changed. - The glass is now composed of multiple smaller pieces rather than one whole piece.
- The mass of the glass has changed. - The total mass of the individual pieces remains the same as the original glass, but if considering the possibility of small fragments being lost or not accounted for, the effective mass may seem different.
However, with respect to typical definitions in physical science:
- The identity of the glass has changed. - This refers to the specific unit of glass no longer existing as a single object, which can be somewhat subjective but often considered in terms of practical use.
- The density of the glass has changed. - This would technically be accurate since density is mass per unit volume and the pieces may occupy more volume than the original single piece, but the materials remain the same.
In summary, for practical purposes, the most clear-cut descriptions of the physical change would be:
- The shape of the glass has changed.
- The size of the glass has changed.
However, one might argue that the identity has also changed based on how it is understood in everyday terms. The density typically would be the least applicable without additional context.