16Hit1600
Geometry and TrigonometryVery hardEffect of scaling on volume

Geometry and Trigonometry practice question

A sculptor makes a small clay model of a statue and then a full-size version that is 4 times as tall, with the same shape. The model uses 2 kilograms of clay. How much clay does the full-size statue use?

  1. A. 128 kgCorrect
  2. B. 8 kg
  3. C. 32 kg
  4. D. 64 kg

Answer: A. 128 kg

Volume scales with the cube of the length factor: 4³ = 64, so 2 × 64 = 128 kg.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. 8 kg
8 kg scales by 4, as if clay scaled with height alone.
C. 32 kg
32 kg scales by 4² = 16, which is how AREA scales.
D. 64 kg
64 kg is the scale factor 4³ alone, forgetting the model's 2 kg.

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