OW Class in 2 weeks

[tom2004]

Well, after a 4 month wait, Im finally taking my OW class in 2 weeks and Im so excited. Ive been studying my OW book and read every chapter and did my HW. When it comes to the written portion of the test, are there certain things that are more concentrated on?? Any tips? Thanks.

 

[rhlee]

just relax and pay attention during class, and you should have no problems at all.

have fun!

 

[nereas]

If you are taking it from PADI, then the written part is like an elementary school math test and the booklets are like comic books. Remember when you were a kid and you had to add up the nickels dimes and quarters? Its like that.

If you are taking it from NAUI then it helps to have college physics and chemistry and a calculator.

Everyone else is somewhere in between.

The principles of scuba diving are fairly simple. Breathing on a regulator is similar to clearing and breathing on a snorkel at the surface with your face in the water.

If you can take off your mask underwater in your swimming pool now and then put it back on and clear it of water by exhaling through your nose, then you should have no problem doing this on scuba as well. For some, however, it is a difficult skill to develop.

If you like swimming underwater with a mask and fins, then you will love doing it on scuba even more. And if you are already an accomplished snorkeler or freediver, then scuba will be easy.

When Cousteau invented the Aqua Lung and packaged it and shipped it around the world to sporting goods stores in the 1940s, he included the instructions "don't hold your breath while using it." That has become Rule #1 in scuba. It is not exactly true all the time, since photographers and speargun hunters will not breathe as they shoot. It is a good rule for you however.

The Red Cross coined a rule for "never swim alone" and that is also a popular scuba rule as well.

PADI uses BWRAF as a reminder of what to check before you go into the water. I think it means B/C, Weight belt, Releases, Air, Facemask/fins.

NAUI uses ABCD. Air, B/C, Clips, Ditch, I believe.

Some others use 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.

There are normally 5 steps to everything. Watch for the 5 steps and memorize them, and then you will learn faster.

All agenices have their own specialized dive tables that tell you how long you can scuba dive based on how deep you go. PADI and NAUI have customized tables whereas some others use variations of the USN tables. Learning to figure out how long you can dive depending on how deep you may go, and then how long to wait between dives, is exaggerated into a really big deal everywhere. The dive computers will do this for you, but you cannot use them on the tests in the classes unfortunately.

You will need gear in the following order:

Swimsuit
Booties (a really good idea for coral reefs)
Mask
Fins (with open backs and heel straps to go with your booties)
Snorkel
Weight belt
Suit of some kind (probably 1/2 mm for you)
Hood & gloves in some places (but not Florida)
B/C of some kind (either jacket or back-inflation fabric harness or backplate-wing)
Regulator of some kind
Tank(s) of some kind
Dive computer or timer/gauge of some kind
Dive knife to wear on your lower leg or upper arm and be super cool looking
Lights eventually
Dive scooter someday

It is normally best to rent everything that you can for as long as possible. Then buy items one at a time once you are sure of what you want. The scuba stores will try to tempt you otherwise. Their lifeblood is selling gear.

You are quite lucky that you live in Florida. Only the Hawai'ians, Australians, southern French, Italians, Greeks, and Egyptians are as lucky too. The rest must fathom cold waters.

 

[rawls]

It sounds as if you are well prepared. Most students don't read all of the chapters before they start their classes. You will have alot of fun. It will be drilled in your head not to hold your breath underwater which is one of the things Boyle's Law involves...Wait a minute...I'm not supposed to be talking about a gas law since I am a PADI Instructor...In any event breathing underwater is telling us not to hold our breath when it is instinctive to do the opposite. It will take a bit of getting used to...But I think you will do fine. Good luck and have fun...

 

[nereas]

It sounds as if you are well prepared. Most students don't read all of the chapters before they start their classes. You will have alot of fun. It will be drilled in your head not to hold your breath underwater which is one of the things Boyle's Law involves...Wait a minute...I'm not supposed to be talking about a gas law since I am a PADI Instructor...In any event breathing underwater is telling us not to hold our breath when it is instinctive to do the opposite. It will take a bit of getting used to...But I think you will do fine. Good luck and have fun...

There may be a drawing about Boyle in the PADI coloring book that the students use, yah. Balloons, I think.

 

[BidAndDive.com]

Have fun and relax. That's what its all about!

 

[SamArkey]

I just took the test a couple of weeks ago. It's was easy, Just like nereas said " the written part is like an elementary school math test" . I had no trouble with it. The only thing I could have improved on was the dive tables. I think you will be fine , as others had said , it sounds like you are well prepared.

Good luck , have fun, and keep us posted.

-Sam

 

[Ber Rabbit]

If you are taking it from PADI, then the written part is like an elementary school math test and the booklets are like comic books. Remember when you were a kid and you had to add up the nickels dimes and quarters? Its like that.

If you are taking it from NAUI then it helps to have college physics and chemistry and a calculator.

ROTFLMAO! Never seen the PADI test but can relate to the NAUI analogy

There's a trick to NAUI exams, the entire exam is in the book Look on I believe it's page X in the front and you'll see some little pictures and descriptions of what they mean. There's one of a hand holding a pencil and it is placed beside the information in the book that makes up the exam. Take the time to write down those concepts and you have a great compact study guide

When you want to do volume calculations just convert the depth to atmospheres absolute (ata)--hint: you gotta be close but don't need to be exact, it's multiple guess after all--then you multiply the given volume by the following formula:
Where you're at (in ATA) divided by Where you're going (in ATA)

Enjoy your class!
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[USFbravis]

My ex-girlfriend could pass the NAUI final exam and lets just say that the wheel is spinning, but the hamster's dead.

 

[Manta Aria]

First of all Pre-Gratz on joining our growing Legion!! But like all my feelow divers have said, Have fun and relax, that's what we all do this for. Don't turn it into work, for alot of us, thats the quickest way to stop diving. When you get your cert, a whole new world will open up before you, and you will never see things the same again!!