🔍 Key Concepts

• Reserve buoyancy is the volume of a vessel above the waterline that can provide extra flotation if the vessel is loaded or flooded • How freeboard (distance from waterline to deck) relates to how much hull is still out of the water • Difference between stability indicators (like metacentric height and righting moment) and buoyancy/volume indicators

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: which choice is directly about how much of the ship’s hull remains above water and can still provide lift if the ship sinks deeper? • Which options describe the ability to come back upright (stability) versus the amount of watertight volume still unused (reserve buoyancy)? • Think about what is visibly measured from the waterline that tells you how much more weight or flooding the ship can tolerate before decks go under.

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which option is a vertical distance measured from the waterline to the main deck • Eliminate any option that is strictly about stability or rolling behavior rather than remaining watertight volume • Confirm that your chosen option would increase if the ship is lightly loaded and decrease when it is heavily loaded or flooded