Divemaster exam A

Question 1

A growing number of diver operations have staff dress codes. How does this benefit the perceptions customers have of the operation in general, and staff members in particular.

Answer 1

Professionalism and role model behavior. Recognizing and supporting the brand. Looking prepared and ready to act the part.

Question 2

What are the four Es of diving, and where does the consumer find them?

Answer 2

Education, Equipment, Experience, Environment -Consumers find all of the four Es in full service PADI Dive Resorts and Dive Centers as it centralizes and integrates all essential activities

Question 3

As a PADI Divemaster, you are in the _____________ business.

Answer 3

Transformation

Question 4

As a PADI Divemaster, your role with respect to the four Es is:

Answer 4

A source of information

Question 5

What are six skills, outside of diver training, that can make you more valuable to the dive industry?

Answer 5

1. Licensed boat captain
2. Retail sales and basic business training
3. Equipment repair technician
4. Compressor and/or boat engine mechanic
5. Media production
6. Marine/aquatic conservation expertise

Question 6

There are more opportunities for ___________ than any other professional in the dive industry.

Answer 6

PADI Instructors.

Question 7

Qualifications to service or repair ________ and/or ________ can make you significantly more valuable to dive resorts.

Answer 7

Compressors, boat engines.

Question 8

What are the annual PADI Membership renewal requirements?

Answer 8

• Must agree to the PADI Membership and License Agreement, pay annual dues (PADI Office, online, renewal document through the mail)
• Divemaster membership remains in Active status, authorizing you to act as a certified assistant in PADI programs and conduct programs

Question 9

As a PADI Divemaster, renewal is:

Answer 9

Annual

Question 10

List at least five characteristics of a good role-model PADI Divemaster.

Answer 10

1. Excellent dive skills
2. Safe responsible diving
3. Ability to read people and situations
4. Maintained and up to date gear
5. Easily build rapport and show confidence

Question 11

List five responsibilities of being a PADI Divemaster.

Answer 11

1. PADI Standards
2. Code of Practice
3. Studying within Divemaster duties
4. PADI Standards Updates
5. Keep current as Divemaster annually

Question 12

% of water on Earth

Answer 12

71%

Question 13

% of water that is Seawater?

Answer 13

97%

Question 14

Hydrological Cycle

Answer 14

connects ALL water

1) Sun evaporates water
2) water vapor forms clouds
3) condensation in form of rain or snow back to earth
4) Runoff feeds lakes, streams, rivers
5) infiltration into underground aquifers
6) all inland freshwater flow is towards ocean

Question 15

two ocean resources vital to life

Answer 15

1) oxygen - 1/3 to 1/2 from ocean phytoplankton and cyanobacteria
2) heat distribution - ocean’s ability to absorb, carry and release heat

Question 16

best time to dive based on tides

Answer 16

high tide or slack tide

Question 17

Why is it important to be knowledgable about the biological and physical properties of the aquatic realm?

Answer 17

• Satisfies diver curiosity
• Helps with other divemaster functions like planning dives according to the environmental conditions and interacting responsibly with local aquatic life
• Makes divers aware of fragile organisms and organisms that can hurt them and how to avoid doing both
• The more you know, the more you can pass on to divers and the more they know the more they can reduce and manage risks, have fun and help preserve it

Question 18

How can you learn more about the aquatic realm?

Answer 18

• Project AWARE Specialty Diver courses (Project AWARE program, Coral Reef Conservation, Fish Identification, PADI Underwater Naturalist course)
• Books and online sources (AWARE-Our World, Our Water, Section Two of The Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving, Life on an Ocean planet - comprehensive marine science text that covers physical and biological properties of ocean ecosystems, fish guides and fish ID slates, local school or university library

Question 19

Why dive in an environmentally responsible manner?

Answer 19

• You don’t want to harm aquatic life and you are aware that bumping or kicking fragile ecosystems can cause significant harm
• Role modeling environmentally responsible diving is in the PADI Member’s Code of Practice
• Divers aren’t a major threat but hundreds of bumps/kicks by careless divers causes real damage
• Directly preserves environment by reducing the effects you have on it and by encouraging other divers to reduce theirs
• Divers have a growing collective voice that can influence environmental initiatives and policies that affect the underwater world - to be credible as environmental ambassadors, we must show that we practice what we preach.

Question 20

It’s important to be knowledgable about the biological and physical properties of the aquatic realm because:

Answer 20

It helps you satisfy diver curiosity, helps you plan dives according to the environmental conditions, you can make divers aware of particularly fragile organisms.

Question 21

Diving in an environmentally responsible manner is important because:

Answer 21

It helps you role model, divers want to have credibility as ambassadors for the aquatic realm, helps you reduce the effect you have on the environment while diving.

Question 22

What ultimately connects all the water on Earth?

Answer 22

The hydrological cycle connects all water (inland and underground bodies).

Question 23

In what ways is the ocean vital to all life?

Answer 23

Humans/terrestrial organisms get food, nutrient and other resources including:

• Oxygen - 98% comes from photosynthesis which the ocean makes 1/3 to 1/2 of because of phytoplankton and cyanobacteria primarily
• Heat Distribution - ocean has the ability to absorb, carry and release on a global scale regulating Earth’s climate

Question 24

What is the base of the marine food chain, and why are some areas much more productive than others?

Answer 24

Primary producers - photosynthesis by phytoplankton, which need sunlight AND nutrients

Areas (continental shelves, polar regions) that have costal upwellings (water flowing up from the deep) tend to be highly productive because upwellings bring nutrients to the surface.

Open ocean has little primary productivity due to lack of nutrients, ocean bottom has ample nutrients but sunlight doesn’t penetrate that far - except in areas with thermal vents where chemosynthesizers form small ecosystems by converting inorganic chemical energy into useable carbohydrates.

Question 25

Why are coral reefs important and what benefits do they provide?

Answer 25

• Most productive, complex and diverse ecosystems on Earth.
• Corals are primary producers (symbiotic phytoplankton live in them), incredibly efficient at recycling available nutrients and the nutrient free water protects coral from organisms from organisms that would compete/cloud water and block sunlight.

Question 26

_________ form the base of the food chain.

Answer 26

Primary producers.

Question 27

You can support sustainable fisheries by:

Answer 27

Supporting MPAs, buying only fish caught by sustainable/well managed fisheries, supporting improved fisheries management in your area, campaigning for responsible fishing practices in your area.

Question 28

What is thermocline and how does it affect divers?

Answer 28

A thermocline is the interface between a warmer, low density, shallower layer of water and a cooler, higher density, deeper layer (8 to 11C/15 to 20F).
Divers need to choose thermal protection based on planned depth and duration.

Question 29

How do you recognize a current and plan a dive when there is a current?

Answer 29

• Boundary between current and counter-current may have no flow, may flow in either direction, with significant changes in visibility and temperature. Rip currents commonly discolor water and disrupt incoming waves.
• Keep diver skills and experience, equipment, planned activities and site in mind. All things being the same with picking dive site/equipment with respect to current, and knowing whether to cancel dive, re-plan as a drift dive or find a new site an be conservative.

Question 30

What is a wave, and what disturbing forces cause waves?

Answer 30

The transmission of energy through a fluid. Wind, earthquakes, undersea landslides and volcanoes cause waves with the intensity and duration determining wave size and characteristics.

Question 31

How do you plan a dive based on the tides?

Answer 31

To account for effects of tides, know time and size of high and low tides at the site (consulting tide tables) best time to dive is at high or slack tide as visibility is better because tide bring in clear water. When you arrive at the site, evaluate conditions to see how ride and other variables are affecting current, visibility and so on so adjust plan accordingly.

Question 32

What causes the tides, and what affects the range of tides in an area?

Answer 32

Results from the gravitational pull of the moon and sun on the ocean, creating two water bulges (waves) on opposite sides of the Earth. As relative positions change, size of bulges change. When they are aligned, highest and lowest tides because they pull together (when at right angles they cancel each other out to a degree/less variation) as Earth rotates, positions of bulges change causing daily tidal rise and fall.

Earth’s landmasses prevent tidal bulges from traveling uniformly over the surface as the planet rotates causing tidal patterns to vary depending on ocean basin size and geographical variables (size of coastline) but remain highly predictable.

Question 33

What makes upwelling and downwelling occur, and what effects do they have?

Answer 33

A form of current with vertical flows instead of horizontal, both result from wind.

Upwellings: wind pushes surface water away from shore, deep water comes up to replace it - or - where a deep current runs abruptly into a sharply rising bottom, diverting the water toward the surface. Recognize by offshore winds accompanied by clearer, cool water with visibility drop a few days later as plankton grows (especially if winds drop and stop pushing water offshore).

Downwellings: wind toward a steeply dropping coastline or reef can cause water to pile up and sink - or - when surface currents, including tidal currents, deflect toward the bottom. Less pronounced but can cause productivity to decline by pushing nutrients into deeper water (benefits deep water species).

Question 34

What makes a wave break?

Answer 34

In deep water, a wave continues to travel until a resisting force causes it to dissipate. If a wave travels into increasingly shallow water, interaction with the bottom begins to affect it, making the circular motion become elliptical and slows due to drag on the bottom and grows taller as its energy packs into a tighter area.

Question 35

The forces that cause currents include:

Answer 35

Wind, waves, the Earth’s rotation, tides.