🔍 Key Concepts

• Flooding and stability – how added water weight and its location affect a vessel’s center of gravity and buoyancy • Free surface effect – what happens when water can move freely in a space versus being low and contained • Hydrostatic pressure with depth – how water pressure changes with depth and how that influences inflow through a hole

💭 Think About

• Think about which is generally worse for stability: heavy water low in the ship or water high/on deck that can shift around freely • Consider how water pressure outside the hull changes with depth and what that means for the rate of flooding through a hull breach • Ask yourself which situations would cause the fastest flooding and which would cause the greatest loss of stability, and see which option best matches both ideas

✅ Before You Answer

• Compare the effect of water entering below the waterline versus at or above the waterline on both flooding rate and ship stability • Check whether the statement about the rate of water entering being inversely proportional to hole area makes physical sense • Distinguish between danger from rapid sinking (flooding rate) and danger from capsizing (stability loss) and see which choice correctly reflects real damage control priorities