What Causes Tides to Rise and Fall?

Imagine Earth is like a big ball, and the moon is its best friend. When the moon pulls on Earth's water, it makes the ocean rise, that’s a high tide! When the moon moves away, the ocean goes down, that’s a low tide. The sun also helps with this dance, sometimes making tides even bigger or smaller.

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Examples

When the moon is near the shore, the water gets higher, that’s a high tide!
If you're on the beach at night when the moon is far away, it's probably a low tide.
A full moon and a sun shining down make waves really big, like a spring tide!

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Categories: Science · tides,gravity,moon,oceanography