Tides Webquest

Part I: Background on Tides

Begin your information search by using your textbook and accessing
http://www.nos.noaa.gov/education/tides/welcome.html
As you read through the tutorial, answer the questions below that correspond to each
section of the tutorial.
What are Tides?
1. What is a basic definition of a tide? Very long period waves that move through
the ocean in response to the orces e!erted by the moon and sun"
. What is a high tide? What is a low tide? #igh tide is when the crest o the wave
reaches a particular location" $ow tide corresponds to the lowest part o the
wave"
!. What is tidal range? The dierence between the high tide and the low tide
What %auses Tides?
". #ides are caused by the gra$itational attraction of what two celestial bodies? &un
and moon
%. What does &ewton's law of uni$ersal gra$itational state? The gravitational
attraction between two bodies is directly proportional to their masses and
inversely proportional to the square o the distance between the bodies
(. Which celestial body has a greater effect on tidal forces on )arth? The sun"
'ravity( Inertia( and the Two Bulges
*. +ow does the moon create a bulge? When the inertia is trying to keep the water
in place but the gravitational orce e!ceeds it and the water is pulled toward the
moon.
1,. What causes a bulge to be created on the opposite side of the )arth or the -far
side. from the moon? The gravitational attraction o the moon is less because it is
arther away" Inertia e!ceeds the gravitational orce "
%hanging )ngles and %hanging Tides
11. /escribe how changes in the relati$e positions of the moon and sun change in
relation to the )arth? )s the moon revolves around the earth( its angle increases
and decreases in relation to the equator" The sun*s relative position to the
equator changes over the course o the year as the +arth revolves around it"
1. At what point is the sun at its minimum declination and its maximum declination?
The vernal and autumnal equino!es the sun is at its minimum declination"
,uring the summer equino! and winter equino! it is at its ma!imum"
-requency o Tides . The $unar ,ay
10. 1ompare and contrast a solar and lunar day. +ow long is a lunar day?lunar is the
time it takes or a speciic site on the earth to rotate rom an e!act point under
the moon"
1". Why do most coastal areas experience two high tides and two low tides? Because
on lunar days the earth takes an e!tra /0 minutes to catch up with the moon "
1%. +ow long does it take for high tide to occur? +ow long is the time between low
and high tide? 12 hours and 2/ minutes" 3 hours and 12"/ minutes
Tidal Variations . The Inluence o Position and ,istance
1(. What causes spring tides? What causes neap tides? +ow many spring and neap
tides occur in a lunar month? the solar tide has an additive eect on the lunar tide(
creating e!tra.high high tides( and very low( low tides" the sun and moon are at
right angles to each other( the solar tide partially cancels out the lunar tide and
produces moderate tide" 2 sets o spring tides and two sets o lunar tides
1*. +ow are tide2generating forces affected when the moon is closest to the )arth 3or
perigee4? when the moon is farthest away from the )arth 3or apogee4? +ow does this
affect the tides that are produced? orces are higher than usual( producing above.
average ranges in the tides" the lunar tide.raising orce is smaller( and the tidal
ranges are less than average"
,. +ow are tide2generating forces affected when the )arth is closest to the sun 3or
perihelion4? when the )arth is farthest from the sun 3or aphelion4? +ow does this
affect the tides that are produced? the tidal ranges are enhanced" The tidal ranges
are reduced "
What )ects Tides in )ddition to the &un and 4oon?
1. +ow are the magnitudes of tides affected by shorelines? By mid2ocean islands?
oceanic tidal bulges hit wide continental margins( the height o the tides can be
magniied" e!perience very small tides o 1 meter or less
. +ow does a funnel2shaped bay compare to a narrow inlet and shallow water?
-unnel.shaped bays in particular can dramatically alter tidal magnitude"
5arrow inlets and shallow water also tend to dissipate incoming tides
!. What is the affect of strong tidal ri$ers on tides in estuaries? powerul seasonal
river lows in the spring can severely alter or mask the incoming tide"
5. What other abiotic factors affect tides? 1ompare and contrast wind and weather
patterns that affect tides" $ocal winds and weather 6ones " wind can move water
aster rom the shoreline" 7nshore winds may act to pile up water onto the
shoreline" eliminating low tide e!posures"