What Makes an Ocean ‘Tide’ Come and Go?

Imagine the ocean is like a big balloon, and the Moon is like your favorite toy that pulls it. When the Moon gets close, it tugs on the water, making it rise, that’s high tide. When it moves away, the water goes back, that’s low tide. The Sun helps too! Sometimes they pull together, making really big tides, and sometimes they pull in opposite directions, making smaller ones.

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Examples

The Moon pulls on the water like a giant magnet, making the sea rise and fall.
When the Sun joins the Moon’s pull, tides get really high, like when you jump with your friend.
Sometimes the Sun and Moon fight each other, making tides smaller.

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Categories: Science · tides,moon,gravity,oceanography