What are tides?
Explain in your own words how tides are created.
Tides are the regular rise and fall of the Earth's oceans and large bodies of water. They are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and to a lesser extent, the sun, on the Earth.
The moon's gravity creates a force on the earth that causes the ocean on the side facing the moon to be pulled towards it, creating a high tide. At the same time, on the opposite side of the Earth, there is also a high tide due to the centrifugal force caused by the Earth and moon revolving around a common center of mass.
As the Earth rotates on its axis, we experience two high tides and two low tides each day. When the moon is directly overhead or on the opposite side, we have the highest high tides, known as spring tides. These occur during the full and new moon phases. When the moon is at a right angle to the sun relative to the Earth, we have the lowest high tides, known as neap tides. These occur during the first and third quarter moon phases.
In summary, tides are created by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the Earth, causing the regular rise and fall of the ocean and other bodies of water.