Question

A thick paste of cement, sand and water is called:
(A) Concrete
(B) Mortar
(C) Slurry
(D) Moderator

Answer 1

Hint: when materials are considered to be used in construction, there are various parameters, criteria and challenges that the given material must overcome. But this is not physically possible for any single material. Hence, we resort to using a mixture of different materials to find the most apt solution for the construction requirement at hand.

Complete Step by Step Solution:
Let us discuss the different options given to us:
1. Concrete: concrete has been a widely used material for construction for so many decades now. It has immense mechanical strength, it is durable and is also fire resistant. These are among the various properties of concrete. These properties are attributed by the constituents used in concrete: water, sand, gravel, cement.
2. Mortar: similarly mortar also is also composed of water, sand, gravel, cement. But the main differentiating factor between concrete and mortar is the amount of aggregates used. Aggregates are nothing but sand and gravel. Mortar has higher amounts of aggregates, which makes it thicker than concrete.
S3. lurry: a slurry is a viscous solution of cement along with water and other chemical additives.
Hence, a thick paste of cement, sand and water is called mortar

Hence, Option B is the correct option

Note: Mortar consists of inert siliceous (sandy) material mixed with cement and water in such proportions that the resulting substance will be sufficiently plastic to enable ready application with the mason's trowel and to flow slightly but not collapse under the weight of the masonry unit.