What Causes the ‘Tides’ and How Are They Different From Waves?

Imagine the ocean is a big, sleepy creature that breathes in and out twice a day. The moon’s gravity pulls on it like a giant magnet, when it pulls, the water rises (that's high tide), and when it lets go, the water falls (low tide). Waves are just little ripples caused by wind, not the same as the big breathing of tides.

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Examples

When you're at the beach and notice the water getting deeper every day, that's a high tide. When it gets shallower, that's low tide.
A wave is like when you throw a rock into a pond, it makes little circles that spread out from where the rock landed.
Imagine the ocean breathing in and out slowly, while waves are just quick, little hiccup movements on top of that breath.

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Categories: Science · tides,waves,moon,gravity