🔍 Key Concepts

• IALA Buoyage System differences between lateral marks and cardinal marks • Primary purpose of a cardinal mark (what information it gives mariners) • When the system uses special channel marks instead of cardinals

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: Which option describes a job that is normally done by lateral marks (red/green) rather than cardinal marks? • Think about what a cardinal mark’s name (North, South, East, West) actually tells you about where the safest water lies relative to a danger. • Which choices clearly involve indicating the safe side around a danger versus guiding you along a well‑defined channel?

✅ Before You Answer

• For each choice, decide: Is this about a direction of safe water relative to a danger (typical of cardinal marks) or about marking the edges/axes of a channel (typical of lateral/bifurcation marks)? • Verify in the IALA system that bends, junctions, bifurcations of channels are normally handled by lateral/bifurcation marks, not cardinals. • Check which options explicitly say safe side or deepest water—those are strong clues to the normal use of cardinal marks.