Four-year-old Mac is sitting at the lunch counter next to his sister Tori. They are having hot dogs for lunch. When his Mom cuts his hot dog into five pieces and Tori's into six pieces, Mac protests, "Tori has more than me!" Which ability does Mac not yet demonstrate?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Mac's protest shows that he does not yet understand conservation, which is the ability to understand that changing the appearance of something (like cutting a hot dog into pieces) does not change its amount or quantity. He is focusing only on the visual appearance of the hot dogs and not on the actual number of pieces they each have. This means that he is likely to also struggle with other conservation tasks, such as understanding that pouring water from a short, wide glass into a tall, thin glass does not change the amount of water.

Four-Year-Old Mac Is Sitting at the Lunch Counter Next to His