Nadeem is pacing the deck of her ship, the Finder III. The Pirate Queen is waiting for her first mate Derek to return from burying her treasure. There is a rope ladder hanging over the side of the ship. The ladder has rungs that are exactly one foot apart. There are 15 rungs on the ladder and the lowest one just reaches the level of the water below. Derek climbed down 11 of them to get into the water; he will climb 11 to get back on board when he returns. The Pirate Queen waits and waits, and the tide comes in – the water level rises three and one-half feet. If Derek comes back now, how many rungs on the ladder will he climb to get on board the ship?
Solution
As the tide comes in, the ship rises with it. There is no change in the number of rungs that Derek needs to climb.