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

[boulderjohn]

How about the other two- the bottom composition affecting visibility more than current, and an OOA scenario where a diver is breathing off his buddies octo requiring an emergency ascent rather than a normal one.

I already responded to these.

• Bottom composition affects visibility because of the degree to which it reflects or absorbs light.
• We need the exact wording of the other one to judge, not just your vague description of it. I don't have a copy of the question with me now.

If I were to go to my PADI pros page, I would be able to tell you how many hundreds of students I had take this exam. This is the the first time anyone has had a problem with these questions.

 

[lowwall]

Attached is the picture in question…

This is a picture of an “Out of Air” hand signal used under water. If tested on this hand signal, it does not mean “Level Off”, “Stop Speaking”, or “Remove the head and just take the tail”. You will not be shown another picture that has the hands doing a similar motion. So choose your answer wisely!

Now we can all pick it apart and complain that it should be a picture of a diver horizontal in the water and in trim…

Here's the WRSTC version from "Common Hand Signals for Scuba Diving" which is available (along with all their standards) at Standards Downloads - WRSTC

 

[boulderjohn]

Sure if it’s disturbed. But a competent diver won’t stir up the bottom. Or perhaps the substrate can somewhat affect the ambient light and indirectly improve or degrade the visibility as suggested by a previous poster. If the bottom consists of large rocks or a wreck that diverts or blocks the current- that would be a much greater effect as I see it.

And for the 3rd time in this thread....

A light, sandy bottom reflects sunlight well and contributes to the 100 foot visibility you often see in the tropics. If you dive in a lake with a dark silt bottom, frequently associated with blackened dead leaves, on a bright sunny day your visibility could be a couple of feet even at shallow depths. It has nothing to do with stirring up the bottom.

 

[gamon]

Ok that clarification makes sense.

 

[Sevenrider860]

Thanks for posting that. I acknowledge my complaint regarding that particular question is unfounded.

How about the other two- the bottom composition affecting visibility more than current, and an OOA scenario where a diver is breathing off his buddies octo requiring an emergency ascent rather than a normal one.

To be honest, I am not finding an OOA exam question written in the manner you describe. I even ran through the full 50 question eLearning exam to see what question you were describing. I am not calling you wrong, I am just saying I have never seen that question and I did not see it when I ran through the eLearning final exam looking for it. Based on the PADI Open Water material, If a diver is breathing off his buddy’s alternate air-source, he is not making a “normal ascent”. There is no test question where you are out of air and “normal ascent” is the answer.

There is the question where you run out of air and your buddy is nearby. It provides the four ascent types taught in the material as the answers. The correct answer is an alternate air-source ascent. The second question is a “fill in the blank” type question and it says you run out of air and your buddy is nearby you do “x” and if your buddy is not nearby and the surface is closer than your buddy, you do “y”. The answers a,b,c,d are compound answers “x” followed by “y”. You would use the alternate air-source ascent for “x” and a controlled emergency swimming ascent for “y”. I need to check, I think one of the answers is alternate air-source ascent, normal ascent. You indicated that it was not a multi-part question though.

For your bottom composition question. In the course materials presented the only reference to bottom composition is in the paragraph about things that can affect visibility.

 

[Sevenrider860]

Here's the WRSTC version from "Common Hand Signals for Scuba Diving" which is available (along with all their standards) at Standards Downloads - WRSTC

View attachment 735974

I can’t remember any student missing the OOA signal question on the PADI eLearning or non-eLearning exam…not saying never…I just don’t remember a class where it was missed. The one that does get missed on occasion is the “low on air” signal question. I like this question because even if they answer the question correctly, I then ask “How low on air before you give the signal?”. After blanks looks or various pressures being called out, we than get to expand the on the subject of dive planning and signal review with your buddy or dive briefings on guided dives.

 

[gamon]

I’m thinking the exam isn’t the same 50 questions each time. That’s maybe why you didn’t see one about the OOA / alternate air source / normal ascent. It was definitely NOT a fill in the blanks question and the “correct” answer was one of the emergency ascent procedures.

I now understand the other 2 questions were valid even if they were posed in such a way that there was a good close second choice even if it wasn’t presented that way during the course. Remember I’m looking at it through the eyes of an experienced diver I didn’t read the course material.

 

[Sevenrider860]

PADI does have two different exams. I don’t think the eLearning final is as sophisticated as you think with a random selection of questions from the pool. I suspect you get one set of 50 or the other set of 50…but I could be wrong. I have a couple of “burner” OW eLearning courses that have not had the final exam taken yet. I can run through a few tonight.

It is not my intention to prove you wrong. If there is a problem, I want to get it fixed. The same issues might be a problem with my students in the future. The OOA with alternate air-source and normal ascent is a big one if it is wrong. I don’t feel this is one answer is better than the other type problem. I think there should be only one correct answer and the others should be obviously incorrect. That is why I am trying to hunt this down.

I’m thinking the exam isn’t the same 50 questions each time. That’s you didn’t see one about the OOA / alternate air source / normal ascent. It was definitely NOT a fill in the blanks question.

I understand the other 2 questions were valid even if they were posed in such a way that there was a good close second choice even if it wasn’t presented that way during the course. Remember I’m looking at it through the eyes of an experienced diver I didn’t read the course material.

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

followed by a phone call to my Mom to ask her why she raised someone stupid enough to run out of air on a scuba dive.

 

[lowwall]

IRemember I’m looking at it through the eyes of an experienced diver I didn’t read the course material.

That's the issue. All of the exam questions come directly out of the course material. I have no doubt that while the primary goal of the exam is to check that students knows the most important facts, a secondary goal is checking that they actually reviewed the course material. The viz question is one of the latter.