SSI Science of Diving
Diving Physics, Diving Physiology, Decompression Theory, Dive Equipment, Introductory Oceanography
COVID-19 Update
- This program will be FREE to all certified divers from 12 April to 30 June
- It is entirely online, including the final exam
- To register, go to the DiveSSI website
- SSI will notify Neptune once you register
- If you take the online exam, you have to score 100% to complete the course. Fortunately, you can repeat the exam as many times as necessary
Course Prerequisites
- The official minimum age for participation is 10, but this course assumes a solid working knowledge of algebra. It does not use calculus. The course is academically challenging at a high school AP or college science level. Persons who have not had science courses should discuss the class content with the instructor before signing up.
- Individuals who wish to delve even further into dive physics and decompression theory (or other topics) will be given guidance for that.
- You need to be an certified diver. The math underpinning some of the topics in the nitrox course will be reviewed, but nitrox certification is not required.
- You must have an active SSI Diver Training Record on file at the dive center. If you don’t, one can be started for you.
- This is a diving knowledge specialty program. There is no in-water component.
Course Objectives
On completion of this diving knowledge specialty course, you should be able to:
- Discuss basic principles of physics, including imperial and metric measurements used in physics and their conversions, with an emphasis on the underwater environment
- Solve algebra-based practical word problems using the gas laws, and the gases related to diving
- Describe Archimedes’ Principle, and apply it to the algebra-based solution of practical word problems related to buoyancy
- Understand how to calculate air consumption for your dive log and use this in dive planning
- Understand how interactions of human physiology and dive physics underpin principles of dive safety
- Discuss the theoretical foundations of underwater physiology, and the effects of the underwater environment affect human physiology
- Implement measures for prevention of diving maladies, recognize symptoms of diving maladies
- Take corrective actions necessary to stop, prevent and or reverse potential harm to the diver
- Restate the key points of Decompression Theory and understand the principles of how Decompression Theory is implemented in dive tables and computer algorithms
- List different situations that impact decompression theory
- Discuss the evolution of dive equipment, and the importance of equipment to diver safety and comfort
- List key features of each Total Diving System Component and the features and benefits of The Total Dive System
- Give an overview of the scope of scuba oceanography
- Understand the origin of waves, tides and currents and their impact on diving
- List several species of aquatic life
- List potential injuries that can occur while diving, and describe appropriate first aid techniques
Course Outcomes
- In your SSI Open Water Diver class, and your nitrox class, you learned many of the basic concepts of physics, physiology, dive medicine, and oceanography. In these entry-level classes, SSI emphasizes concepts and principles, rather than scuba math. The Science of Diving specialty course goes into greater depth in each of these areas, including scuba math, giving you the knowledge expected of a dive professional.
- On successful completion of the course, you will be certified by SSI as having successfully completed Science of Diving, and have a digital certification card.
- Successful completion of this course meets the SSI prerequisite for the Divemaster professional recognition.
How the Course Works
- The course, including your at-home study of the online Science of Diving training materials and meeting with the training specialist should take around 24 hours, or more. There are no pool sessions or open water training dives.
- When you sign up, you’ll be given access to the online training materials at the SSI website.
- Please complete all sections of the online course, including the online review questions, prior to meeting with the training specialist and taking the exam. Set aside several hours (over the course of a few days) to do this – it’s a lot of material. If you need help along the way, let us know.
- The training specialist will interactively discuss the online course materials with you, with a focus on coping with scuba math, dive physics, and decompression theory. There will be time for a question and answer session and some problem-solving scenarios to work through.
- There's a difficult written final exam, with a minimum passing score of 80%.
Related SSI Continuing Education Programs
- Enriched Air Nitrox
- Equipment Techniques
- React Right
- Stress and Rescue
- Marine Ecology
- Fish Identification
- Shark Ecology