What Causes the Tides?

The tides are like a big ocean game of push and pull. The Moon is the main player, pulling the water up on one side of Earth, that’s a high tide. On the opposite side, another high tide happens because Earth gets pulled toward the Moon, leaving less water behind. In between, there are low tides when the water is pulled away from the shore. The Sun also plays a part, sometimes making the tides bigger or smaller. It's like having two friends pulling on either end of a rope, one friend is stronger (the Moon), and the other helps out (the Sun).

Take the quiz →

Examples

When you're near a lake and your friend pulls you toward them, water moves toward you, that's like a high tide. When your friend pulls Earth toward them, it leaves less water on the other side, that’s another high tide.
Imagine being in a giant pool. If someone pulls one end of the pool up, the other end goes down, just like tides work when the Moon pulls water toward it and away from the opposite side.
If your friend is pulling you and another person is also pulling you in the same direction, the pull gets stronger, that’s how the Sun helps the Moon make bigger tides.

Ask a question

Discussion

Recent activity

Categories: Science · tides,moon,gravity