Question 159Safety & Environmental - Assistant Engineer

The correct answer is A) virtual height of the center of gravity. Increasing the free surface of a confined liquid, such as fuel or water in a ship's tank, has the effect of raising the virtual height of the ship's center of gravity. This is because the free surface allows the liquid to shift, effectively raising the center of gravity of the liquid mass and the overall center of gravity of the vessel. The other options are incorrect because: B) uncorrected 'KG' refers to the actual vertical center of gravity, which is not directly affected by free surface; C) metacentric height is a measure of initial stability, not affected by free surface alone; and D) the metacenter is a point used to determine stability, not directly affected by free surface.