Online PADI test practice?

[Lorenzoid]

Tables? Why didn't ya say so? Sure, there are plenty of YouTubes and other resources to help with table problems. I guess so many divers aren't even taught to use tables anymore that it didn't immediately occur to some of us that was your question. Table problems are indeed the one part of the exam that most people really do need/want to practice.

I like your ham radio Morse code analogy.

 

[boulderjohn]

What I find interesting is that she said the PADI OW book has been "dumbed down" a bit, and she's seen a lot more people trying to get certified as a result.

I have no idea what this means.
There have been no standards removed--a number have been added. Thus, the course is more difficult now than it was just a few years ago.

The course can be taken by anyone 10 years old and up, so the course materials must be written at that level. That has been true for many years now, so there is no change there.

 

[Mebejedi]

Oh, dive tables was just one of my concerns... But more specific than just overall knowledge. Everything else makes sense.... There's just a lot to remember.

One thing that i /do/ wonder about, though, is how increased depth limits my air supply. I "get it", but I'm just having trouble visualizing how it actually works. Does the water pressure /really/ affect me all the way down to my lungs? There was a freedive video where the guy said his lungs were probably squeezed down to the size of fruit at 100 ft. It would be interesting to measure my body circumference at depth to see how much smaller my body becomes.

All I know is, she's been diving for@19 years, and she mentioned some changes in the book. I have my old book (I was considering getting certified about 10 years ago, after my first introductory dive in Oahu), and thought I might read it as well, to see if I noticed any differences.

All I know is, she's been diving for like 19 years, and she mentioned that there were changes. I have my old PADI book (I considered getting certified 10 years ago after my first introductory dive on Oahu). I thought I might read it to see if I noticed any differences.

 

[Hawkwood]

I have no idea what this means.
There have been no standards removed--a number have been added. Thus, the course is more difficult now than it was just a few years ago.

The course can be taken by anyone 10 years old and up, so the course materials must be written at that level. That has been true for many years now, so there is no change there.

I noticed that too, John.

I though about responding, but I think you have an instructor who is in some way trying to impress the students regarding her "knowledge". Seems a rather stupid thing to tell your students. Great way to instil confidence in them.

 

[Hawkwood]

Oh, dive tables was just one of my concerns... But more specific than just overall knowledge. Everything else makes sense.... There's just a lot to remember.

One thing that i /do/ wonder about, though, is how increased depth limits my air supply. I "get it", but I'm just having trouble visualizing how it actually works. Does the water pressure /really/ affect me all the way down to my lungs? There was a freedive video where the guy said his lungs were probably squeezed down to the size of fruit at 100 ft. It would be interesting to measure my body circumference at depth to see how much smaller my body becomes.

All I know is, she's been diving for@19 years, and she mentioned some changes in the book. I have my old book (I was considering getting certified about 10 years ago, after my first introductory dive in Oahu), and thought I might read it as well, to see if I noticed any differences.

All I know is, she's been diving for like 19 years, and she mentioned that there were changes. I have my old PADI book (I considered getting certified 10 years ago after my first introductory dive on Oahu). I thought I might read it to see if I noticed any differences.

Have a "think" through the chart relating depth, pressure, volume, and density that you went through in Section one. If you understand the relationships between all four, you've got just about every "cause and effect" in diving figured out. Hint: it's the density of the air you are breathing at depth that "limits your air supply".

 

[Mebejedi]

But is the increased density due to pressure on the tank, or the first/second stage, or on my body/lungs... Or a combination of all of these things?

 

[yle]

I have no idea what this means.
There have been no standards removed--a number have been added. Thus, the course is more difficult now than it was just a few years ago.

The course can be taken by anyone 10 years old and up, so the course materials must be written at that level. That has been true for many years now, so there is no change there.

I think the "dumbed down" perception comes from the new Knowledge Review format. Prior to 2013, the KRs required students to actually write sentences. The new format only requires them to check boxes. Some educators would argue that the ability to write sentences properly is a higher level skill than the ability to check boxes, and that writing sentences requires deeper understanding of the material.

I agree that the course content is improved with the new format, but some OW classes use minimum classroom time: students read the book and bring completed KRs (boxes all checked!) with them to class. For those instructors that spend a lot of time in the classroom, discussing the finer points of the topics, the box-checking format isn't such an issue.

 

[Neilwood]

Oh, dive tables was just one of my concerns... But more specific than just overall knowledge. Everything else makes sense.... There's just a lot to remember.

One thing that i /do/ wonder about, though, is how increased depth limits my air supply. I "get it", but I'm just having trouble visualizing how it actually works. Does the water pressure /really/ affect me all the way down to my lungs? There was a freedive video where the guy said his lungs were probably squeezed down to the size of fruit at 100 ft. It would be interesting to measure my body circumference at depth to see how much smaller my body becomes.

All I know is, she's been diving for@19 years, and she mentioned some changes in the book. I have my old book (I was considering getting certified about 10 years ago, after my first introductory dive in Oahu), and thought I might read it as well, to see if I noticed any differences.

All I know is, she's been diving for like 19 years, and she mentioned that there were changes. I have my old PADI book (I considered getting certified 10 years ago after my first introductory dive on Oahu). I thought I might read it to see if I noticed any differences.

The reason depth affects your air supply is due to pressure. The air in your lungs has to be at the same pressure as the water pressing in on them. This means that at any given depth the air is far more dense than at the surface (at 20m it will be 3 times as dense). This means that at depth the volume of your lungs (normally about 6l) is filled with more gas than would be the case at the surface.

 

[Hawkwood]

I think the "dumbed down" perception comes from the new Knowledge Review format. Prior to 2013, the KRs required students to actually write sentences. The new format only requires them to check boxes. Some educators would argue that the ability to write sentences properly is a higher level skill than the ability to check boxes, and that writing sentences requires deeper understanding of the material.

I agree that the course content is improved with the new format, but some OW classes use minimum classroom time: students read the book and bring completed KRs (boxes all checked!) with them to class. For those instructors that spend a lot of time in the classroom, discussing the finer points of the topics, the box-checking format isn't such an issue.

Actually, the old KR questions allowed for students to simply "copy and paste" from the text. As an Instructor, it was rather boring to hear students quote verbatim from the text.

The new KR questions require more understanding as a lot of them are questions based on situations or scenarios. You have to apply (however simplistically) what you learned to the KR questions.

 

[Hawkwood]

But is the increased density due to pressure on the tank, or the first/second stage, or on my body/lungs... Or a combination of all of these things?

I'm not the best at articulating this in text...I'm an arm waving in front of a white board guy.

This a really Mickey Mouse view. No doubt others will give you a more detailed explanation full of all the physics and "Laws". Just remember, depth, pressure, volume, density are all related.

In a nutshell, your regulator is designed to deliver air to you at the same pressure as the surrounding water pressure, at ambient pressure. When you fill your lungs at a depth of 10 metres (2 atmospheres), you are taking in the equivalent "amount" of air as two breaths at the surface. You can think of that as meaning more air molecules with each breath. Your tank has limited number of air molecules. Obviously then, a tank will only last half as long at 10 metres as it would at the surface. A tank that would last 1 hour at the surface would only last 1/3 as long, or 20 minutes, at a depth of 20 metres, etc.

As I said, a very Mickey Mouse way of thinking about it.