Why Do Oceans Have Tides?

Imagine you're on a swing, when someone pushes you, you go higher. The moon is like that push for the ocean. It pulls the water toward it, making the sea rise. When the moon moves away, the water goes back down. This happens twice a day because the Earth spins, and the moon keeps pulling from different sides.

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. A child playing with a ball in water notices it floats higher when the moon is out.
  2. A fisherman finds more fish near the shore at certain times of day, like sunrise and sunset.
  3. A beachgoer walks through shallow water that goes up to their ankles one hour later.

Ask a question

See also

Loading…

Discussion

Recent activity

Categories: Environment · tides,oceanography,moon,gravity