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 Introduction
The Ramos family is enjoying a day at the beach.
Everyone has a favorite thing to do. Sandra, the oldest,
likes to surf. The younger children, Eva and Luis, build a
sand castle. They choose a spot far up on the beach, out
of the reach of the waves that could ruin it—at least that’s
what they think. It takes them a long time, but finally,
they are finished. The sand castle is almost as tall as Luis!
Eva and Luis go swimming for a while. Then they
have lunch. That is when Eva notices something. “Look,
Luis!” she says. “The water! It’s come all the way up to
the sand castle!”
Luis can’t believe it. When they built the castle, the
water was at least a meter away. Now, the waves are
almost touching it!
“How did the water get there?” asks Luis.
“I know how the water got there,” says Mrs. Ramos.
“The tide must have come in. Quick—let’s build a wall
around your castle so that it doesn’t wash away!”

The sand castle and the tide

2
What Are Tides?
Tides are the regular rise and fall in the level of the
ocean’s waters with respect to the land. We talk about
tides moving “in” and “out.” But what does this mean? Let’s
start by thinking about the beach that Luis and Eva are on.
When the tide comes in, the waves reach farther and
farther up on the shoreline. The water moves toward the
sand castle. The level of the ocean appears to be rising.
The point at which the ocean is at its highest is called
high tide. The tide then starts going out. Eventually, the
ocean level appears to stop becoming lower. It is at its
lowest point for this cycle. This is called low tide. The
height difference between the water levels of high tide
and low tide is called the tidal range.
There is a vertical rise and fall of water because of
the tides. Sometimes these movements cause water to
move horizontally as well. This is called a tidal current.
For example, ocean water moves into the shallow waters
near the beach as the tide comes in. This is a type of
tidal current called a flood current.

Tidal range

Low Tide High Tide

High Tide
High Tide
Tidal Range
Tidal Range
Low Tide
Low Tide

3
 What Causes Tides?
People have asked this question since long ago. Some
people noticed that the tides seemed to follow the
phases of the moon. The largest tidal ranges happen
during a new moon and a full moon. The smallest tidal
ranges happen during quarter moons. People guessed
that there was a connection between the moon and the
tides, but it was many years before people figured out
just how that connection worked.
In 1687, a scientist named Sir Isaac Newton explained a
force called gravity. Gravity is a force of attraction between
things, such as two planets or Earth and the moon.
Newton said that two things affected gravity. These
things are mass and distance. Newton said that the closer
things are to one another and the greater their mass, the
greater the gravitational attraction between them.
The tides are based, in part, on gravity. In addition
to gravity, there is another major force that works
to produce tides. That force is called inertia. Inertia
describes the way that moving objects tend to keep
moving in a straight line.
How do inertia and gravity work together to produce
tides? The moon and Earth’s waters are attracted to each
other by the force of gravity.
The attraction between Earth’s waters and the moon
is strongest on the side of Earth that faces the moon.
This is because this side is closer to the moon.

4
 On the side of Earth nearest the moon, gravity pulls
water toward the moon. The force of inertia works
against gravity. It tries to keep the water in place. But
gravity is stronger on the near side, so Earth’s water is
pulled toward the moon.
On the side of Earth farthest from the moon, the
force of inertia is stronger than the force of gravity. The
water tries to keep moving in a straight line, going away
from Earth.
On both sides of Earth, the water “bulges” because
of these forces. We call these tidal bulges. How do
tidal bulges relate to tides? As Earth rotates, it spins
through these two tidal bulges. From the point of view
of someone standing on a beach, the largest part of the
bulge would appear as high tide.

Tidal bulges are created by the

forces of gravity and inertia.
Tidal bulge due to inertia Tidal bulge due to gravity

Moon
Earth

5
 What Else Affects the Tides?
The sun also affects the tides. As with the moon,
there is a force of attraction between Earth’s waters and
the sun. But because the sun is much farther away, its
effect on the tides is not as great as that of the moon.
At times, Earth, the moon, and the sun are all in one
straight line. When that happens, the force of gravity
between the sun and Earth’s waters adds to the bulges
created by the moon. This produces both extra-high
high tides and extra-low low tides. These are called
spring tides. “Spring” does not describe the time of year.
You can think of it more as the way that the extra-high
tides “spring up.”
At other times, the sun, Earth, and moon form a
right angle. The force of the sun on Earth’s waters partly
cancels out that of the moon. This results in tides that are
moderate, or middle-level. These are known as neap tides.

Spring Tides and Neap Tides

Moon
Earth Moon

Sun Sun Earth

Spring Tide Neap Tide

6
When Do Tides Happen?
Many coastal areas have two high tides and two low
tides every lunar day. A lunar day is about 24 hours and
50 minutes. This is how long it takes for a spot on Earth
to rotate from an exact point under the moon back to
that same point. Each lunar day, Earth rotates through
two tidal bulges. This should cause the time between
two high tides to be 12 hours and 25 minutes. This is
half of the lunar day.
But not all coasts have two high tides and two low
tides every lunar day because there are many other
factors that affect tides. As a result, three basic tidal
patterns exist on Earth: semidiurnal, mixed semidiurnal,
and diurnal.

Tidal patterns in North America

¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ Semidiurnal Tides

– – – – – – – Diurnal Tides

– ¬ – ¬ – ¬ – ¬ – ¬ Mixed Semidiurnal Tides

7
 A semidiurnal tide has two high and two low tides
in a lunar day. These high and low tides are about the
same height. Sometimes a body of water can have high
and low tides with different heights during one lunar
day. These are called mixed semidiurnal tides. A body of
water can also have only one high tide and one low tide
in a lunar day. This is a diurnal tide.

How Are Tides Measured?

Eva and Luis “measured” the changing tide just
by sight. But people often need more than rough
measurements of the tides, so they invented scientific
ways of measuring them.
In the past, many scientists measured tides with an
instrument called a stilling well. A stilling well was made
up of a pipe. It calmed, or stilled, the water inside it.

Tide houses were

Tide House
sometimes built to
hold tide measurement Recording Unit
equipment. Float Wire

Float

Waves
Current Average Instantaneous
Water Level Water Level
Stilling Well Inside Well
Water Intake

8
Inside the stilling well, a float hung from a wire. This
float measured the water level. It was attached to a
recording unit.
Before computers, water level measurements
were recorded onto paper charts. Now, those same
measurements can be recorded directly by computers.
The way the measurements can be taken has also
changed. Today, instead of using a float, scientists use an
audio signal, or sound signal, to measure the water level.
Inside the well there is a narrow tube called a sounding
tube. An audio signal travels down the sounding tube.
The signal bounces off the surface of the water and
returns. The time it takes for the signal to reflect off the
water indicates the water level.

Who Needs to Know About Tides?

We measure tides so that we can describe and predict
them. Many people benefit from this information. Those
who live or work around the sea often need to know
about tides. Scientists want to know about tides so that
they can better understand our oceans.
Remember Eva and Luis’s older sister, Sandra? She
likes to surf. She needs to know about tides.
Surfers like to catch good waves. The tides affect
waves. Surfers usually want to know when the tide
goes in and out at their favorite beaches. Sandra knows
that if she checks the tides, she will find the time of day
when the tides help make the best surfing waves.

9
 Sailors on ships also need to know about tides. Think
about what happens when the tide goes out. A ship
in shallow waters can get stranded on the sand if the
captain is not careful.
Sometimes, a captain will have to sail a ship through
a shallow water port. This can be very difficult! A port
can be busy, like a crowded parking lot. The captain
must avoid hitting other ships and must also steer clear
of things under the water. If the water levels are rising
or falling, the captain needs to know about it.
Anyone who builds things in the water or at the water’s
edge needs to know about tides. For example, engineers
sometimes build docks and bridges. They must make sure
that high or low tides will not hurt their projects. So, they
study the tides on the place where they are building. They

Busy port at high tide

10
take all tidal levels into account. A dock that is under
water during a spring tide might not be too useful!
People who fish also study the tides and tidal
currents. Some types of fish gather in tidal currents.
Knowing the tides and the currents helps people catch
more fish.
Some scientists also need to know the tides and tidal
currents. Knowing how the tides work helps them study
the ocean. It also can make it easier to study organisms
that depend on the tides.
Of course, knowing about tides can help you when
you visit a beach. When the tide goes out, you can look
for seashells that the waves have left behind. When the
tide comes in, you can make sure your beach towel is in
a place that is high and dry.

11
 The Moon and the Beach
The moon is not something you often think about
at the beach. Usually, you think about the sun. And yet,
our beaches and shores are affected by the moon every
day. Surfers, people who fish, sailors, and many others
depend on the tides.
So the next time you go to the beach, think about
the moon. You might even build a sand castle, as Eva
and Luis did. But remember to watch out for high tide!

12
Think and Write
1. What effect do you think spring tides have on
tidal ranges?
2. What two forces cause tidal bulges?
3. What is the position of Earth, the sun, and the moon
during a neap tide?
4. Descriptive Writing Describe why an engineer
building a dock in the ocean might need to know
about the tides.

Hands-On Activity
In and Out Tides Make two models of the same beach.
In one, show high tide. In the other, show low tide.
Present your models to the class.

School-Home Connection
Different Tides in Different Places Find Alaska,
California, and Florida on the map on page 7. Identify
what kind of tides each place has. Explain the different
types of tides to a family member.