What relationship exists between high tides and phases of the moon?
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question72.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide
Tides are the rising of Earth's ocean surface caused by the tidal forces of the Moon and the Sun acting on the oceans.
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The relationship between high tides and phases of the moon is due to the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on Earth's oceans. This phenomenon is known as tidal forces.
To understand this relationship, we need to understand the concept of lunar and solar tides. The moon's gravitational force attracts Earth's oceans, causing two tidal bulges to form. One bulge points toward the moon, on the side closest to it, and the other bulge forms on the side farthest from the moon. These bulges create high tides.
Now, we can observe that the moon has different phases, such as new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter. These phases are based on the relative positions of the moon, Earth, and the sun.
During a new moon or a full moon, the sun, Earth, and moon are approximately in alignment, with Earth positioned between the two. At this time, the gravitational forces of both the sun and the moon combine, resulting in higher tidal bulges. These tidal bulges create what we call "spring tides," which are characterized by higher high tides and lower low tides.
On the other hand, during the first quarter and last quarter phases of the moon, the sun, Earth, and moon form a right angle. In this case, the gravitational forces of the sun and the moon partially cancel each other out. This leads to smaller tidal bulges, resulting in what we call "neap tides." Neap tides have lower high tides and higher low tides.
Therefore, the relationship between high tides and phases of the moon is that during the new moon and full moon phases, there are higher high tides known as spring tides. During the first quarter and last quarter phases, there are lower high tides known as neap tides.