Tides Flashcards
What is one of the most significant effect’s of the Moon’s gravitational pull on Earth?
The tides in the earth’s oceans and seas.
Define tides:
Tides are the predictable, repeated rise and fall of the sea and ocean levels.
Why can we say that the tides are predictable?
Tides are predictable because the rise and fall of tides happens everyday and we can predict how high or low the tides will be throughout the month.
What happens during high tide?
The sea levels rises, and the waves bring the seawater further up the beach or raise the sea level in the harbour.
What happens during low tide?
The water level drops, and you will be able to see much of the material that was previously underwater.
Explain the tidal bulge:
The tidal bulge is the role of the moon in causing tides.
- The main cause of tides on Earth is the gravitational pull of the moon on the earth.
- The moon pulls on the earth’s water, creating a tidal bulge, which forms on both sides of the earth.
What is responsible for high tide?
The tidal bulge
Why does the tidal bulge form on both sides of the Earth?
The moon pulls on the earth and its water, the earth pulls back.
As the earth pulls back, it pushes its waters that are on the opposite side of the moon, so that the tidal bulges on both sides of the earth are equal.
The role of the moon in causing tides - high and low tide
- The moon takes approximately 28 days to orbit the Earth, but most coastal areas will experience two high tides and two low tides every day.
- this occurs because the earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours.
This means that a coastal town or city will pass through the two tidal bulges on the earth in one day.
What are spring tides?
Spring tides are connected to the phases of the moon.
A spring tide occurs when there’s a new or full moon.
It occurs twice per month.
The tides are slightly larger than usual as sun and moon are aligned.
