Scuba Diving Open Water 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During a safety stop, how long should a diver remain at approximately 5 meters (15 feet)?
- 1 minute
- 3 minutes (Correct answer)
- 5 minutes
- 10 minutes
Correct answer: 3 minutes
The standard safety stop is 3 minutes at 5 meters (15 feet), allowing excess nitrogen to off-gas before surfacing.
Question 2: What should a diver do if they become separated from their buddy underwater?
- Immediately surface and swim to the boat
- Search for 1 minute, then ascend and reunite at the surface (Correct answer)
- Continue the dive alone until the buddy reappears
- Signal distress and wait on the bottom
Correct answer: Search for 1 minute, then ascend and reunite at the surface
Standard protocol is to search for approximately one minute, then ascend safely and reunite at the surface or the dive boat.
Question 3: What does the term 'off-gassing' refer to in scuba diving?
- Releasing air from the BCD
- The elimination of dissolved nitrogen from body tissues (Correct answer)
- Purging a flooded regulator
- Venting CO2 from the tank
Correct answer: The elimination of dissolved nitrogen from body tissues
Off-gassing is the process by which dissolved nitrogen that accumulated in body tissues during a dive is safely eliminated during and after ascent.
Question 4: Which piece of equipment controls a diver's rate of ascent and descent most directly?
- Wetsuit
- Dive computer
- Buoyancy Compensator Device (BCD) (Correct answer)
- Dive knife
Correct answer: Buoyancy Compensator Device (BCD)
The BCD is inflated to add buoyancy for ascent and deflated to reduce buoyancy for descent, giving the diver direct control over vertical movement.
Question 5: What is the recommended maximum ascent rate for recreational scuba divers?
- 9 meters (30 feet) per minute (Correct answer)
- 18 meters (60 feet) per minute
- 30 meters (100 feet) per minute
- 3 meters (10 feet) per minute
Correct answer: 9 meters (30 feet) per minute
Recreational dive agencies recommend ascending no faster than 9 meters (30 feet) per minute to allow safe nitrogen elimination and prevent DCS.
Question 6: A diver experiences a sudden sharp pain in their ears during descent. What is the correct response?
- Descend faster to equalize quickly
- Ascend slightly and attempt to equalize before continuing (Correct answer)
- Ignore the pain and continue diving
- Blow air forcefully from the mouth
Correct answer: Ascend slightly and attempt to equalize before continuing
Ear pain during descent signals a failure to equalize; the diver should ascend slightly to relieve pressure and try equalizing before continuing.
Question 7: What is the name of the technique where a diver exhales gently while ascending to prevent lung overexpansion?
- Valsalva maneuver
- Continuous breathing (Correct answer)
- Frenzel technique
- Toynbee maneuver
Correct answer: Continuous breathing
Divers must breathe continuously and never hold their breath while ascending, as expanding air can cause a pulmonary barotrauma.
Scuba Diving Open Water 3
During a safety stop, how long should a diver remain at approximately 5 meters (15 feet)?