Which statement best describes the effect of increasing width on the minefield design?

Which statement best describes the effect of increasing width on the minefield design?

• A. Increases the depth of water required
• B. Decreases the total number of mines
• C. Changes the mine's explosive timing
• D. Increases the number of mines while preventing actuation circle overlap

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that each mine has a defined actuation circle—the zone in which it can detect or trigger. When the field becomes wider, you need more of these non-overlapping zones to maintain effective coverage across the larger footprint. Placing more mines while keeping their actuation circles disjoint ensures each mine acts independently, avoids interference between nearby mines, and preserves the intended spacing and coverage. If you tried to keep the same number of mines or if you allowed the actuation circles to overlap, coverage would be uneven or redundant triggers could occur, which is undesirable for a well-designed field. So, increasing width leads to more mines to cover the expanded area, with actuation circles spaced so they do not overlap. The other options don’t fit because width doesn’t inherently change water depth, timing, or reduce the number of mines.

The key idea is that each mine has a defined actuation circle—the zone in which it can detect or trigger. When the field becomes wider, you need more of these non-overlapping zones to maintain effective coverage across the larger footprint. Placing more mines while keeping their actuation circles disjoint ensures each mine acts independently, avoids interference between nearby mines, and preserves the intended spacing and coverage. If you tried to keep the same number of mines or if you allowed the actuation circles to overlap, coverage would be uneven or redundant triggers could occur, which is undesirable for a well-designed field.

So, increasing width leads to more mines to cover the expanded area, with actuation circles spaced so they do not overlap. The other options don’t fit because width doesn’t inherently change water depth, timing, or reduce the number of mines.