Tides Notes and Questions and Key

The Universe Tides Notes & Questions
Tides are the regular rising and falling of the sea. You have seen this if you have been to the ocean.
When it is HIGH tide, the water has come a long way up the beach and at LOW tide you will see lots of
the shore because the sea has gone a long way out. There are about TWO high tides and TWO low tides
a day.
Tides are due to the gravity of the Moon trying to pull the part of the sea closest to it towards it. In the
(exaggerated) diagram below, there will be a high tide at point A, called the near tide, because of this
pulling effect. There will also be a high tide on the opposite side of the Earth at point C, called the
opposite tide. At points B and D there will be a low tide.
The Earth rotates once every 24 hours which means that the places on the Earth where HIGH and LOW
tides occur are always changing. The diagram below shows where HIGH and LOW tides will be 6 hours
after the diagram above.
The Sun also has a gravitational effect on the sea. Although the Sun is larger than the Moon, it is farther
away from the Earth, which means that it has less effect on our tides. Twice a month, during the new
moon and the full moon, the Moon and the Sun are in line with the Earth and so they pull together. This
causes very high high tides and very low low tides called SPRING tides.
Twice a month, during the first and third (or last) quarters, the Sun and Moon are at right angles to
each other, and so their pulls sort of cancel each other out, and are not as great. This causes much
smaller tides. These are called NEAP tides.
QUESTIONS ON TIDES
1. If it is LOW tide at a harbor at 9:00 am, at about what time would you expect it to be HIGH tide in
the afternoon?
2. If it is HIGH tide at 8:00 pm, when would you expect the next HIGH tide to be?
3. The following two diagrams show the position of the Sun, Moon and Earth. Which would produce
the HIGHEST tides? Give reasons for your answer.
The Universe Tides Notes & Questions

Tides are the regular rising and falling of the sea. You have seen this if you have been to the ocean.
When it is HIGH tide, the water has come a long way up the beach and at LOW tide you will see lots of
the shore because the sea has gone a long way out. There are about TWO high tides and TWO low tides
a day.
Tides are due to the gravity of the Moon trying to pull the part of the sea closest to it towards it. In the
(exaggerated) diagram below, there will be a high tide at point A, called the near tide, because of this
pulling effect. There will also be a high tide on the opposite side of the Earth at point C, called the
opposite tide. At points B and D there will be a low tide.
The Earth rotates once every 24 hours which means that the places on the Earth where HIGH and LOW
tides occur are always changing. The diagram below shows where HIGH and LOW tides will be 6 hours
after the diagram above.
The Sun also has a gravitational effect on the sea. Although the Sun is larger than the Moon, it is farther
away from the Earth, which means that it has less effect on our tides. Twice a month, during the new
moon and the full moon, the Moon and the Sun are in line with the Earth and so they pull together. This
causes very high high tides and very low low tides called SPRING tides.
Twice a month, during the first and third (or last) quarters, the Sun and Moon are at right angles to
each other, and so their pulls sort of cancel each other out, and are not as great. This causes much
smaller tides. These are called NEAP tides.
QUESTIONS ON TIDES
1. If it is LOW tide at a harbor at 9:00 am, at about what time would you expect it to be HIGH tide in
the afternoon? About six hours later, at 3 p.m.
2. If it is HIGH tide at 8:00 pm, when would you expect the next HIGH tide to be? About 12 hours
later, at 8 a.m. the next day.
3. The following two diagrams show the position of the Sun, Moon and Earth. Which would produce
the HIGHEST tides? Give reasons for your answer. The diagram on the right has the three
objects in a straighter line, which means the sun and moon would be working together to
make the higher tide.

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How do tides occur?

What causes spring and neap tides?

The Universe Tides Notes & Questions

The Universe Tides Notes & Questions

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