Section: Coach Water — A Lifetime with Water
This section covers Chapter 4, Lessons 4.1 through 4.4.
Part A — Vocabulary (20 points, 2 points each)
Select the best answer for each question.
1. Ritual bathing refers to:
A) Bathing every day B) The use of water as part of a religious or cultural practice, often involving immersion, sprinkling, or pouring C) A medical procedure D) Public bathing
2. Sacred spring refers to:
A) A season of the year B) A natural water source treated as having spiritual significance, often the site of pilgrimage or healing tradition C) A specific U.S. national park D) A modern wellness spa
3. Liminal describes:
A) Lower limit B) A state of transition between two stages of life or being; water frequently appears at liminal moments C) A waiting room D) A reduced amount
4. Hydrosphere refers to:
A) Water bottle B) The total volume of water on Earth, including oceans, freshwater bodies, ice, atmospheric vapor, and groundwater C) A sphere of influence D) A type of water bottle
5. Watershed refers to:
A) A garden shed B) The land area that drains water into a particular river, lake, or sea C) A water tank D) A pivotal moment in history
6. Infancy in the lifespan context:
A) Anyone under 5 B) The first year of life; newborns are about 70-75% water and have the highest proportional water needs C) The early teens D) Birth only
7. Senescence refers to:
A) A type of senior community B) The biological process of aging at the cellular level, including changes in body composition and organ function C) A medical diagnosis D) Retirement
8. Caregiving hydration refers to:
A) Drinking on behalf of someone B) The practice of supporting hydration in others — infants, ill family members, older adults — who cannot fully manage their own intake C) A profession D) A specific medical specialty
9. Consumed substances (in this curriculum) are:
A) Anything bought at a store B) Food and water — the two consumed-substance Coaches are Coach Food (Bear) and Coach Water (Elephant) C) Alcohol and drugs D) Air
10. Cleansing (as a theme in water traditions) refers to:
A) Bathing B) The use of water (literally or symbolically) to remove physical or moral impurity, appearing in nearly every human tradition C) A modern wellness practice D) A specific religious doctrine
Part B — Concept Comprehension (20 points, 2 points each)
Select the best answer for each question.
11. Which of the following is not an example of a traditional water practice?
A) Wudu in Islamic daily prayer B) Mikveh immersion in Jewish tradition C) Misogi in Shinto practice D) The use of distilled water in laboratories
12. Across human cultures, water frequently appears at:
A) Only at the end of life B) Only at births C) Liminal moments — births, comings of age, marriages, deaths D) Only in religious contexts
13. A newborn is approximately what percentage water?
A) 30-35% B) 50% C) 70-75% D) 90%
14. In older adulthood, hydration considerations become more deliberate because:
A) The kidney's concentrating ability declines and thirst response is blunted B) Older adults sweat more C) Water reserves expand D) Plasma volumes are always larger
15. Approximately what percentage of daily total water intake comes from food rather than drink, for typical adolescents?
A) 0-5% B) 20-30% C) 60-70% D) 90-100%
16. Cold diuresis refers to:
A) Loss of cold tolerance with aging B) The increased urine output observed during or after cold exposure C) Reduced plasma volume during cold D) Cold air in the lungs
17. Mouth-breathing during sleep:
A) Has no effect on overnight water loss B) Reduces overnight water loss C) Increases overnight water loss because it bypasses the nose's humidifying function D) Only affects athletes
18. The two "consumed-substance" Coaches are:
A) Move and Brain B) Food and Water C) Light and Sleep D) Cold and Hot
19. Across cultural water traditions, several themes recur. Which of these is not one of those themes?
A) Water at liminal moments B) Water as cleansing C) Water as a tool for weight manipulation D) Water as boundary or transition
20. According to this chapter, the Elephant suggests engaging with traditions outside one's own background:
A) By extracting practices that seem useful regardless of context B) With respect, through study and (when serious) learning from teachers within the tradition C) By avoiding them entirely D) By treating them as scientifically equivalent to one's own
Part C — Application (30 points, 6 points each)
Write 2-4 complete sentences for each question. Show your reasoning.
21. Describe three themes that recur across water traditions developed independently in different parts of the world. Why might these themes converge across geographically separated cultures?
22. Compare the hydration considerations relevant to an infant, an adolescent, and an older adult. What is the same across all three? What is different?
23. The Elephant says "what changes is the body's margin for error" across the lifespan. Explain this concept and identify one practical implication for caregiving.
24. Choose two Coach pairings (e.g., Water + Hot, Water + Food, Water + Sleep) and write 3-4 sentences for each describing the integration between Coach Water and the partner Coach.
25. This curriculum has emphasized that "the nine Coaches together describe one body." Explain what this means in your own words, using Coach Water as a central example.
Continue to the next section.