🔍 Key Concepts

• List vs. trim – understand the difference between a sideways lean (list) and fore‑and‑aft tilt (trim) • Off‑center ballast and free surface effect – how weight placed off the centerline affects stability and heeling moment • Counter‑flooding – what happens to a vessel’s weight distribution and center of gravity when you intentionally flood another tank

💭 Think About

• Visualize a ship with a full tank on one side and an empty tank on the other. What changes when you flood the empty tank? Consider both the total weight and where that weight is located. • Think about how adding water on the opposite side affects the ship’s center of gravity and the heeling moment caused by the original off‑center ballast. • Ask yourself whether counter‑flooding makes the ship more upright, more inclined, or leaves the angle the same, and how that relates to list or trim.

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify whether counter‑flooding moves the ship’s center of gravity closer to the centerline or farther away. • Consider whether adding water on the opposite side tends to balance the original off‑center weight or add to the existing imbalance. • Check which option directly describes the effect on the angle of inclination (how much the ship leans), rather than internal stability measures like righting arm or righting moment.