Tides

What are they?

What are they caused by?
Are there different kinds of
tides?

 Those of you who have spent some time

on the beach have probably noticed that

the water level of the ocean does not stay
the same all day long. Although waves
continually wash the shore, the actual
water level changes as the day passes.

 It rises for a period

of hours until it
reaches its highest
level, and then it
begins to fall, or
recede, to its lowest
level. This rise and
fall of the ocean is
known as the tide.
Its highest and
lowest levels are, of
course called high
and low tides.

High Tide

Low Tide

Tides What are they?

Tides are daily changes in the level

of ocean water.
They are the periodic rise and fall of
the water level in the oceans and
other large bodies of water.
I wonder how often this periodic rise
and fall happens each day?

What causes tides?

What moves ocean water?

Wind
Earthquakes
Plate tectonics
The dominant force that moves ocean
water is the gravitational forces from
both the sun and the moon.

Early thoughts about what

caused the tides.
Some believed the earth was a

living animal and the tides a

result of its breathing.
Others, who thought the oceans
waters were the earths blood,
decided the tides were its pulse,
caused by the beating of its
great heart.

Early thoughts about what

caused the tides.
Early followers of the religious

prophet Muhammad believed that the

rise and fall of the waters were
caused when the Angel of the Sea
placed his foot in and out of the
ocean.
Primitive natives thought the tides
were a sign of a sea gods anger and
made human sacrifices to please him.

The Lure of the Moon

The relationship between the phases
of the moon and the tides was
discovered more than 2,000 years
ago!
People of the time knew the moon
had something to do with the tides,
but they couldnt explain why.

Sir Isaac Newton to the

Rescue!
Newtons

Universal
Gravitation theory
helped to explain
how the gravity of
the moon (and
the sun) were
related to tides.

What causes tides?

The gravity of the moon pulls on

everything on the Earth.

The moons gravitational pull on
liquids is much more noticeable than
on solids.
Why? Because liquids move more
easily than solids.

What causes tides?

How often tides occur and the

difference in tidal levels depend on the

position of the moon as it revolves
around the Earth.

The moons pull is strongest on the

part of the Earth directly facing the

moon.

High Tide
The part of the ocean directly facing

the moon, bulges towards the moon.

There is a corresponding bulge on

the opposite side of the Earth.

These bulges are called high tide.

Low Tide
When high tides occur, water is

drawn away from the area between

the high tides, which causes low
tides to occur.

How often is there a change in

tides?
Try to figure it out . . .
High tides happen on opposite sides of
the Earth.
The Earth rotates once on its axis
every 24 hours.
How many high tides would any one
place in the ocean experience each
day?

Answer
The periodic rise

and fall of the

water level in the
oceans and other
large bodies of
water happens . . .

Twice each day!

What effect does the sun

have on tides?
The sun is much larger than the moon.
The sun is farther away from the Earth
than the moon.

Q: Which one (the sun or the moon) do

you think has a bigger effect on tides?
A: The moon, just because it is closer.

Tidal Variations
Tidal Range = the difference in levels
of ocean water at high tide and low
tide.
Tidal ranges vary greatly due to the
combined forces of the sun and the
moon on the Earth
It all depends on the position of the
Earth, moon, and the sun in space.

Spring Tide
A tide with a large

tidal range that

occurs two times a
month (new moon
and full moon)

Sun, Earth, and the

moon are aligned

Neap Tides
A tide of minimum

range that occurs

during the first and
third quarters of
the moon

The sun, Earth, and

moon form a 90
degree angle

Weird Science!
The moon also creates tides in our

atmosphere
They are called lunar winds
They can be detected by studying
slight periodic fluctuations in weather
patters
Very strange, indeed!

Review
Q: What are tides?
Tide = the periodic rise and fall of the
water level in the oceans and other large
bodies of water.
Q: What is the dominant force that moves
ocean water?
The gravitational forces from both the sun
and the moon.

Review (contd)
Q: Where is the moons pull is
strongest on the Earth?
The moons pull is strongest on the
part of the Earth directly facing the
moon.

Review (contd)
Q: Which one (the sun or the moon)
has a bigger effect on tides?

The moon

Review (contd)
Q: What is the difference in levels of ocean
water at high tide and low tide called?
Tidal Range
Q: Tidal ranges vary greatly due to the
combined forces of the _________ and the
________ on the Earth
Sun, moon

Review (contd)
Q: How are the sun,
Earth, and moon
situated in space
so that we
experience a spring
tide?

Sun, Earth, and the

moon are aligned

Review (contd)
Q: How are the sun,
Earth, and moon
situated in space so
that we experience
a neap tide?

The sun, Earth, and

moon form a 90
degree angle