🔍 Key Concepts

• Archimedes’ principle – how buoyant force relates to the weight of water displaced • What displacement tonnage represents (the ship’s weight, in tons of seawater displaced) • The balance between weight (gravity) and buoyant force for a ship at rest in the water

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: when does an object float, and when does it sink, in terms of the relationship between buoyant force and weight? • Think about what it means physically if the buoyant force becomes greater than the ship’s displacement tonnage – what would the ship try to do in the water? • Which answer choices describe trim or loading conditions versus the basic question of “float vs sink”?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify that displacement tonnage is essentially the ship’s weight in tons of water displaced. • Check which option directly addresses the overall float/sink condition, not just a side-to-side or fore-and-aft loading condition. • Confirm that you’re matching the situation where buoyant force ≥ weight of the ship to the correct physical outcome.