During a buoyancy check, what kind of breath should be used to test buoyancy?

• A. Deep inhale
• B. Normal breath
• C. Holding breath
• D. Exhaling fully

Answer: (B)

Buoyancy is directly affected by how much air you have in your lungs, so the way you breathe during the check matters. Using a normal breath mirrors what you’ll experience during the dive and gives an accurate sense of your buoyancy under typical conditions. A deep inhale would make you more buoyant than you’ll usually be, potentially hiding the need to adjust your weighting. Exhaling fully would make you sink more than you’ll normally be, giving a misleading impression of your control. Holding your breath is unsafe and doesn’t reflect how you’ll breathe while swimming. So, breathing normally gives the correct, practical assessment of your buoyancy.