Five steps are taken to get from $0$ to $20$.  Each step is of equal size, so each step is $4$.  Three steps are taken from $0$ to $y$, so $y=3\times 4=12\rightarrow \boxed{\text{C}}$.


There are five steps, and y is step number three. We can get our answer by multiplying since all the steps are the same. \[20\cdot \frac{3}{5}=12\]. So, our answer is $\boxed{\text{C}}$----stjwyl
If the markings on the [number line](https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php/Number_line) are equally spaced, what is the number $\text{y}$?

$\text{(A)}\ 3 \qquad \text{(B)}\ 10 \qquad \text{(C)}\ 12 \qquad \text{(D)}\ 15 \qquad \text{(E)}\ 16$