PADI Night & Limited Visibility Diving 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When conducting a night dive, what is the recommended primary light color for the marker light clipped to your tank valve or BCD?
- White (Correct answer)
- Red
- Blue
- Cyan
Correct answer: White
A white marker light on your tank or BCD helps your buddy and dive leader keep track of your position in the water column.
Question 2: Which underwater navigation technique is most reliable during a night dive with zero ambient light?
- Natural landmarks
- Compass and kick-count (Correct answer)
- Surface reference buoy only
- Shadow navigation
Correct answer: Compass and kick-count
Compass bearings combined with kick-cycle counting provide a consistent, light-independent way to track distance and direction.
Question 3: A diver notices bioluminescent organisms glowing in the water during a night dive. What should the diver do to best observe this phenomenon?
- Turn on the primary torch at full brightness
- Turn off lights and wave a hand gently through the water (Correct answer)
- Ascend to the surface immediately
- Increase fin-kick speed to stir up more organisms
Correct answer: Turn off lights and wave a hand gently through the water
Bioluminescence is best seen by extinguishing artificial lights so the faint natural glow becomes visible when water is disturbed.
Question 4: What is the PADI recommendation for the minimum number of lights a night diver should carry?
- One primary light only
- One primary and one backup light (Correct answer)
- Three lights — primary, backup, and marker
- A light is optional if buddy has one
Correct answer: One primary and one backup light
PADI requires at least one primary light and one backup light so the diver can continue the dive safely if the primary fails.
Question 5: During limited visibility conditions caused by a silt-out, a diver should first:
- Ascend immediately at maximum safe rate
- Stop, remain still, and allow particles to settle (Correct answer)
- Increase swimming speed to exit the area
- Signal buddy using a whistle
Correct answer: Stop, remain still, and allow particles to settle
Stopping and hovering neutrally buoyant allows fine particles to settle enough to regain some visibility before making a calm exit.
Question 6: What role does a surface marker buoy (SMB) play in night diving safety?
- It replaces the need for a dive light
- It signals the boat or shore support to your surfacing position (Correct answer)
- It anchors the dive team to the descent line
- It measures surface current speed
Correct answer: It signals the boat or shore support to your surfacing position
Deploying an SMB at the end of a night dive alerts boat traffic and surface support to the diver's location during ascent.
Question 7: How should divers signal 'I'm okay' to each other using torches during a night dive?
- Shine the light directly into the buddy's mask
- Move the light in a slow, large circle (Correct answer)
- Flash the light on and off rapidly
- Point the light straight up
Correct answer: Move the light in a slow, large circle
A large, slow circular motion with the torch is the standard 'okay' signal for night diving without blinding your buddy.
PADI Night & Limited Visibility Diving 2
When conducting a night dive, what is the recommended primary light color for the marker light clipped to your tank valve or BCD?