• Question: how do the tides from the sea work ?

    Asked by james98 to Amy, Drew, Julia, Kimberley, Sara on 13 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Drew Rae

      Drew Rae answered on 9 Jun 2011:

      Hi James98. That’s a really good question. Tides happen because of the pull of the moon. The way gravity works, it pulls more the closer you are. Because the earth is so big, that means some parts of the earth are much closer to the moon at any time. These parts get more pull from the moon’s gravity, and water bulges up just a little bit in those spots, pulling it away from the other side of the earth. For something as big as the whole earth, it’s a tiny little difference in pull, and a tiny little bulge, but it is enough to make the tides.

    • Photo: Sara Imari Walker

      Sara Imari Walker answered on 10 Jun 2011:

      Hi james98! Drew gave a fantastic answer on how tides work! The tide is caused by the moon. To give you another example, because the tides are caused by gravity (the same thing that keeps us stuck to the Earth!) the Sun also contributes to our tides. Something that is interesting which you may have noticed is that high tide and low tide don’t always seem like they are at the same height throughout the year. That is because it is the combined effects of the Earth’s rotation + the position of the Moon + the position of the Sun relative to Earth that cause tides. For example when the Sun and Moon are lined up, our tides are much higher because the Sun and Moon are pulling in the same direction.

    • Photo: Amy MacQueen

      Amy MacQueen answered on 10 Jun 2011:

      Think these guys hit the nail on the head!! 🙂

    • Photo: Kimberley Bryon

      Kimberley Bryon answered on 12 Jun 2011:

      Excellent question! I think that the other scientists have explained this really well.

    • Photo: Julia Griffen

      Julia Griffen answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I never knew the reason for low and high tides! Learn something new every day!

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