PADI OW Final Exam Questions that are either wrong or just bad

[gamon]

The question with the OOA situation was not a fill in the blanks format. It appears that only one of the emergency ascent answers was the “correct” one. Again. It seeing the need for an accelerated ascent of plenty of air is available to the buddy team.

As fAr as the visibility question goes, in the experience of this diver, the bottom structure has a much greater effect on current than visibility.

 

[tursiops]

The question with the OOA situation was not a fill in the blanks format. It appears that only one of the emergency ascent answers was the “correct” one. Again. It seeing the need for an accelerated ascent of plenty of air is available to the buddy team.

As fAr as the visibility question goes, in the experience of this diver, the bottom structure has a much greater effect on current than visibility.

Unless you can quote the actual questions, you are just blowing smoke.

 

[jonhall]

So sweet but I doubt very much that PADI, or any other agency, designed the exam as a group cooperation exam.

Taking the AOW course several years ago at a resort dive op, only my buddy and I were in a room to take the final exam. An instructor reviewed questions/answers from the book that had been assigned and made sure we had the correct answers. My buddy and I were then left alone to take the test. The instructor comes back, checks the test - I pass, my buddy missed too many questions. The instructor reviewed the missed questions with my buddy, who tried to explain why, in his opinion, his answers were correct - he is stubborn that way. The instructor then gives him the same test again and leaves, with me sitting there AND with my buddy's copy of the failed exam with the corrected answers laying on the table. Thinking my buddy was taking too long to answer the questions, I told him the instructor left the other exam on the table so he could look at it - he wouldn't though as he felt he would learn more if he did it on his own - good for him but I was getting impatient. He barely passed the 2nd time still trying to explain why his answers to the missed questions should be the correct ones. We easily could have collaborated if my buddy would have wanted to.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Unless you can quote the actual questions, you are just blowing smoke.

I think that the OP has some legitimate questions and concerns as to his understanding of the questions that are asked by PADI. Better for all of us to just discuss rather than to accuse or criticize.

 

[lowwall]

I pretty sure there might be issues of copying the PADI copyrighted images here, so I wont.

Go ahead. Just because an image is copyrighted does not mean you can't ever use it. The largest exception is the Fair Use doctrine and this is about as clearcut a case of Fair Use as you could possibly find.

Note, I am not a lawyer. But I was a university librarian.

 

[tursiops]

I think that the OP has some legitimate questions and concerns as to his understanding of the questions that are asked by PADI. Better for all of us to just discuss rather than to accuse or criticize.

He is criticizing questions that he can't remember, and never should have seen in the first place. I suspect the actual questions are not a problem.

 

[Zef]

I wasn't the one taking the course and yes she passed. I passed my OW exam over 30 years ago, thanks for your concern but this isn't about that. I emailed PADI about my concerns with the test. On the off chance I receive a response I will post it to this thread.

Despite the similarities of the OOA and Level Off signals and how a single graphic depicting one or the other and forcing a student to choose can be ambiguous and unfair, let's accept that I was in error about the OOA signal question and concentrate on the other two. As I said there was a 4th question, I was hoping someone who recently took the test might recall having a problem with it. Whatever it was, my girlfriend and I debated the answer, she was going to go with the "correct' one, I gave her reasons why it wasn't the best choice, and I was wrong.

There were two emergency procedures offered as possible answered, the emergency buoyant ascent and the emergency controlled ascent, one of them, I believe the latter was the indicated "correct" one. It is my opinion that neither one is correct as it was not an emergency situation as it was presented. One or b oth of those included using the buddies alternate air source but so did the one we chose which was to use the buddies alternate air source and do a normal ascent.

The way you worded the bottom terrain/visibility question is not how I recall it but now it's coming down to memory which can be faulty, if it WAS worded as you put it, I wouldn't have had an issue with it.

I bet if you go through the e-learning/manual/study material that you will find the precise answers for the test questions you have posted about...

Particularly with regards to the out of air signal one, the reality is that the hand signals you learn in your basic open water course are not really codified as law, as in "you must use these hand signals for these specific purposes"...rather they are suggestions, even though they may have been adopted far and wide. The reality is also that when diving with someone new that one should go over hand signals and meanings to ensure divers in the buddy group are on the same page before descending below the surface where modes of communication becomes limited.

For the purpose of the PADI exam, its not really about what you might use for OOA vs Level Off, but instead what the course material defined as OOA....had the material been thoroughly studied in preparation for the exam, you would find that there is really only one correct answer for the test question.

-Z

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Why even have a hand signal for out of air? Do they actually expect someone to give a hand signal while pulling a regulator from your buddy’s mouth?
Seems like task overloading.

I remember being out-of-air on a research dive where I was taking photos of the subtidal clam bed survey researchers. I simply went to a nearby diver, made the out-of-air signal, and buddy breathed for three or so breaths (this was in the mid-1970s when no diver had an octopus), backed off, took a few more photos, came back and buddy breathed a few more breaths, then backed off and finished the roll of film. I came back, got another three breaths, and made a CESA to the boat (about 30 feet above). Seems like divers today are panicking about nothing.

SeaRat

 

[FF / EMT]

I remember being out-of-air on a research dive where I was taking photos of the subtidal clam bed survey researchers. I simply went to a nearby diver, made the out-of-air signal, and buddy breathed for three or so breaths (this was in the mid-1970s), backed off, took a few more photos, came back and buddy breathed a few more breaths, then backed off and finished the roll of film. I came back, got another three breaths, and made a CESA to the boat (about 30 feet above). Seems like divers today are panicking about nothing.

SeaRat

I’m panicking because I can’t read cursive…

 

[madamimadam]

Was this an online exam or in class written exam?

"Written e-learning online exam."

Hahahahaha. That response is as clear as some of the exam questions.

I agree though, there are poorly constructed questions with ambiguous language in some PADI and SDI tests that I've taken. It's frustrating to encounter them, especially when the answer is flagged "incorrect". Agencies need to employ [better] professional editors. Just because someone can type-out fifty to a hundred pages about a subject does not guarantee they are clear or well-written pages.