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What Causes the ‘Tides’ in the Ocean and Why Do They Change Daily?

The moon pulls the ocean, like a giant magnet. When the moon is near, it tugs on the water and makes it rise, that’s a high tide. When it moves away, the water goes down, that’s a low tide. Because Earth spins every day, we get two high tides and two low tides each day. It's like the moon is playing tag with the ocean.

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Examples

  1. When the moon is close to you, the ocean near you rises up, that's a high tide.
  2. Tides are like waves made by the moon, and they happen every day because Earth spins around its axis.
  3. Low tides occur when the water moves away from where you're standing, making the beach bigger.

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Categories: Science · tides,moon,gravity,oceanography,earth science