Question 1

What is the general term for an area designated as a deceased person's final resting place?

Accepted Answer

A cemetery is the general term used for an area used as the final resting place for a deceased person.
Catacomb, crypt and mausoleum all describe areas or placement spaces for deceased individuals. A cemetery is a more general term used to describe the final resting place for the remains of a person who died.

Question 2

A casket may be held in the chamber of what type of structure?

Accepted Answer

A crypt is a location, usually a chamber, inside a mausoleum, used to house a casket.
Crypts are chambers within a building (a church or mausoleum) where a casket may be found. Cremation urns, used to hold remains of a person who has been cremated, may be found in a columbarium.

Question 3

What is the purpose of cremation?

Accepted Answer

The purpose of cremation is to reduce a deceased body to ashes in order to be placed in an urn or vase.
Cremation is a process where a body is placed in a crematory housing a furnace that is brought up to a high temperature. This process reduces the body to ashes, which are placed in an urn.

Question 4

What type of location might a person who served in the armed forces be buried at?

Accepted Answer

A national cemetery is the location designated by Congress for the burial of veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.
According to the National Cemetery Association of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, there are 131 national cemeteries and 33 soldier's lots and monument sites that may be found in 40 states as well as in the territory of Puerto Rico. Of these memorial sites, established by Congress for service members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Marines, Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, is the most famous. A cemetery is a traditional site that a person's remains are buried in, which does not require prior military service. Burial at sea is typically performed for naval personnel or those who request such a service be performed and a crypt is a chamber or vault, usually found in churches that contain coffins.

Question 5

What is the name given to the caretaker responsible for caring for a cemetery, its maintenance and upkeep?

Accepted Answer

It is the role of the sexton to care for the grounds of a cemetery, including maintenance and upkeep.
The sexton is the modern term for an individual formerly known as a grave digger whose responsibility is to maintain the cemetery of a church. A cantor is the individual who leads prayers in a synagogue. The groundskeeper is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of a cemetery while an attendant typically is a caretaker who works with the groundskeeper to maintain the cemetery.

Question 6

What is a vase consisting of a pedestal used to hold a deceased person's cremated remains?

Accepted Answer

Urn is the name for a type of vase with pedestals used to hold the remains of a deceased person.
Although an urn is a type of vessel, it is the name for the type of vessel with pedestals that the ashen remains of a deceased person are placed. A casket is a box, generally made from a variety of material including wood, where a deceased person's body is placed for burial in a cemetery.

Question 7

Which of the following best describes a person knowledgeable of operating a crematory?

Accepted Answer

A certified operator is the term referring to a person qualified in the operations of a crematory.
A person trained and educated to manage a crematory is deemed to be certified. The terms educated, credentialed and experienced may be appropriate descriptions for such a person; however, a crematory operator participates in a standardized certification program called the Certified Crematory Operator Program.

Question 8

Which of the following are steps used in handling remains to be cremated in a dignified manner?
I. Positive identification of the remains by an Authorizing Agent
II. Covering and protecting the remains
III. Removal of the deceased's personal possessions by the certified operator
IV. Removal of foreign material prior to cremation

Accepted Answer

The handling of remains for cremation in a dignified manner include positive identification of the remains by an Authorizing Agent (I), covering and protecting the remains (II) of the deceased, and removal of foreign material prior to cremation (IV).
Handling the remains of a deceased person in a dignified manner requires the operator of the crematory to engage in certain activities. These include those listed in choices I, II and IV of the question. Removal or placement of the deceased's personal possessions may only be done upon the written consent of the Authorizing Agent.

Question 9

Cremated remains of a deceased person are placed in which type of structure within a mausoleum?

Accepted Answer

The columbarium is the name for the structure within a mausoleum where the remains of a deceased person after cremation has taken place are stored.
The columbarium is a space that is reserved within a mausoleum that holds the ashen remains of an individual who has been cremated. A crypt is an underground area found in a church and other buildings that holds religious items and coffins. A chamber can be found in a crematorium and houses the unit used to cremate a body.

Question 10

A type of structure or object designed specifically for paying homage to the dead may be referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A memorial is an object specifically designed for paying respect to a deceased person's memory.
Memorials are objects that are designed for the memory of someone who has died. Such an object may be contained within a memorial park (such as the various memorials found on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.) or may be some type of symbol like an inscribed bench in a public park. Although graves, cemeteries and tombstones serve as reminders of a person who has died, they are generally found in one place (cemetery) while a memorial may be placed elsewhere.

Question 11

Member of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) include all of the following groups, EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Members of the Cremation Association of North America or CANA do not include medical examiners.
CANA is an international association comprised of those in the funeral services industry that believe in cremation as the preparation form for deceased persons. A medical examiner is the name of the professional whose job is to investigate a death occurrence that may be of a suspicious or unusual nature.

Question 12

A body being transported from one destination to another (i.e. city to city) is placed in what type of protective container?

Accepted Answer

An air tray is a type of transfer vessel or container that is used for transporting a casket between destinations.
The air tray is a cardboard box covering placed over a casket that is used to protect the casket from damage during transport. A casket is the equipment used to house the remains of a deceased person. A transfer box is a piece of equipment used for transporting remains instead of a casket.

Question 13

What is the process for the disposal of the remains of a deceased person that does not involve a funeral ceremony?

Accepted Answer

Direct cremation is the process for the disposal of a deceased person without a formal ceremony.
Cremation is a process for the preparation of the body of a deceased person for containment in an urn. Cremation does not take the place of a formal ceremony unless a direct cremation is requested.

Question 14

What type of casket seal is used to keep objects from entering the container and preserving a corpse?

Accepted Answer

A hermetically sealed casket is one that is sealed in a way to completely keep out any type of foreign matter from entering.
A hermetically sealed casket is a type that water, soil and other foreign objects from entering a casket and accelerating the decomposition process. These types of caskets may be more commonly used in a concrete vault.

Question 15

The family of a deceased person who has been cremated may request that the remains be placed in what type of urn for distribution?

Accepted Answer

A keepsake urn is a type of urn that is used to distribute the ashes of a deceased person to several family members.
A family of a deceased person who has been cremated may request that the ashes be placed in several smaller urns for the purpose of distribution to several family members. Such an urn is referred to as a keepsake urn, which allows the family members to maintain personal memorials of the deceased.

Quiz 1: Arts Cemetery and Crematory Operations