So You Want to Be a Deep Sea Diver Online Quiz | People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Deep sea divers are needed for lots of jobs. Which of the following is NOT a job done by deep sea divers?

Answer: Letter carrier to the residents of Bikini Bottom

Deep sea divers also repair and inspect ships, dams, pipelines and off-shore oil rigs and conduct underwater search. In the Navy, deep sea divers also do underwater construction, salvage and research.

Spongebob Squarepants and the other residents of Bikini Bottom get their mail from the Ponyfish Express.

2. There are seven accredited schools in the US that teach deep sea diving. How long does the deep sea diving course take?

Answer: 4-13 months

The accredited deep sea diving schools in the US can be found in Delaware, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, South Carolina and California. Graduates of these schools receive a tender/diver card from the Association of Diving Contractors International. You need this card to get a job as a diver in the US.

3. One kind of diving suit is called the ADS. If you become a deep sea diver, you may have to wear an ADS. They are very stylish. What does ADS stand for?

Answer: Atmospheric Diving Suit

The Atmospheric Diving Suit is a suit that fully encapsulates the diver--head, torso, arms, legs, hands and feet. It maintains one atmospheric pressure inside. It is usually made of cast or forged aluminum or glass reinforced plastic, known as GRP. The ADS generally has some form of propulsion on it.

One of the earliest ADS's was the JIM suit, named after the diver who first tested the suit. It was made of magnesium and weighed over 900 pounds. The JIM was followed by the JAM. The JAM was made of GRP. JAM gave way to SAM. The aluminum SAM was good to 1,000 feet while the GRP SAM was good to 2,000 feet. SAM was replaced by WASP which in turn has been replaced by NEWT. The NEWT suit was designed by Phill Nuytten. NEWT is of cast aluminum construction, has onboard thrusters for manuevering in the water, and provides more mobility to the diver. Its onboard oxygen rebreather can supply 48 hours of emergency backup air.

4. Being as intelligent as you undoubtedly are, you already know that a deep sea diver needs to breathe when submerged. Which of the following would a deep sea diver breathe?

Answer: Helium-oxygen mixture

Compressed air is used by scuba divers. Scuba divers cannot dive to the depths a deep sea diver would go. Nitrox is a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and used by scuba divers.

The heady air of adventure is something to strive for but it will not sustain a diver.

Normal air is about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% other gases. Having too much nitrogen in the body while deep underwater can cause physical problems for the diver. The safest mixture is a mixture of helium and oxygen.

5. Decompression sickness is caused by having too much nitrogen in the body when a diver surfaces after being underwater for too long or being too deep. It can result in severe pain, paralysis and even death. What is another name for decompression sickness?

Answer: Bends

When you breathe air, the nitrogen in the air dissolves in the body. The lower you go underwater, the higher the pressure. Nitrogen dissolves more completely under high pressure. When a diver ascends the nitrogen forms bubbles. A diver who has been underwater a long time or has been deep underwater must ascend slowly so the nitrogen forms smaller bubbles. Large nitrogen bubbles cause decompression sickness, also known as caisson disease or the bends. If the bubbles reach the heart or brain, it can cause the diver's death.

6. There may be times when a diver needs to emerge from depth quickly--such as when they are about to be attacked by a forty-foot squid. Fortunately there is a device which lets them acclimate to the pressure at the surface and avoid decompression sickness without making a stair-step type of ascent from the ocean depth. What is the name of such a device?

Answer: Decompression chamber

The water may be too cold or the conditions too dangerous for a diver to make many stops on their way to the surface. In such a case a decompression chamber can be used. The diver goes into the chamber immediately upon reaching the boat. The pressure inside the chamber lowers in stages until finally reaching the ambient air pressure when it is safe for the diver to emerge from the chamber.

A recompression chamber, on the other hand, is used for a diver who has decompression sickness. The diver goes into the recompression chamber where the pressure is increased to the equivalent of 60 feet of water. The diver breathes pure oxygen in the chamber. After several hours the pressure is lessened and lessened again until the diver is safe.

A hyperbaric oxygen chamber is used in hospitals for patients with air or gas embolisms as well as other diseases and conditions where increased pressure on the body is part of the treatment.

7. At diver school you will probably learn underwater welding. That's right--welding, underwater. Be safe, though, because there are risks. Which of the following is a safety concern while welding underwater?

Answer: Electric shock

Water is an outstanding conductor of electricity. If there is a nick in the line it could shock the welder. Another risk involved in underwater welding is the potentially explosive buildup of oxygen and hydrogen pockets.

These risks are reduced in dry, or hyperbaric, welding. In dry welding a water-tight chamber is placed around the area to be welded. The welder works within this chamber. In wet welding the welder works in the water.

8. The US Navy, for one, uses divers to inspect and maintain their ships. The divers clean hulls and propellors, repair hulls, maintain underwater sonar and other equipment, and repair battle damage. What is the general term for this type of work?

Answer: Ship husbandry

US Navy ship husbandry is conducted in accordance with the "Underwater Work Techniques Manual" (NAVSEA 0994-LP-007-8010 and -8020.)*

Interestingly, NAVSEA 0994-LP-007-8010 and -8020 are no longer being printed due to:
1) fiscal constraints, and
2) the pages got all soggy when divers tried to read the manuals underwater.
They are now being distributed on CD.

*"Underwater Work Techniques Manual" is available for $22.95 plus S/H at Spamazon.com.

9. There are special procedures for someone who needs to make continuous dives or stay underwater for days or weeks at a time. Basically this involves the use of chambers to acclimate the diver's body to the pressure they will be working in. Once their body adapts to that pressure, they are kept at that pressure between dives by going back into the chamber. What is this type of diving called?

Answer: Saturation diving

With the availability of underwater pods and minisubs, saturation diving is not as common anymore. It is still used, however, when manual work needs to be done underwater, such as a major repair or construction. Use of saturation diving is safer for the diver than constantly diving, then decompressing, and also saves time.

It plays havoc with the diver's social life, though, because he/she spends all his/her time with fishes.

10. If you become a diver in the US Navy you have the opportunity to rise in grade from diver second class to diver first class to master diver. Sailors love their badges and as a diver you will receive a special badge. What does the badge for a US Navy diver second class look like?

Answer: Diving helmet

The badge is silver. The diver first class badge is a diving helmet with a dolphin on either side. The master diver badge has the dolphins plus a trident.

Source: Author deputygary

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Exit10 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

So You Want to Be a Deep Sea Diver Quiz

Can you hold your breath a long time? Does being 500 feet under the sea in a metal covered suit weighing hundreds of pounds and attached to a rubber line seem like a pleasant work environment? If so, you may have what it takes to be a deep sea diver.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>