Pirate Queen Goldie is pacing the deck of her ship, the Vasa II. She is waiting for her first mate, Waugamon, to return from burying the treasure. There is a rope ladder hanging over the side of the ship so Waugamon can get back on board when he returns. 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. The Pirate Queen waits and waits, and the tide comes in—the water level rises three and one-half feet. If Waugamon comes back now, how many rungs on the ladder will he have to climb to get on board the ship?
When the tide comes in, the ship rises too, so there’s no change in the number of rungs Waugamon will climb.