J A S O N D AV I S E - P O RT F O L I O

HOW DOES THE MOON EFFECT

FIRST OF ALL:

- Tide is the rise and fall of water (vertical movement, in respect to land) caused by gravitational
forces of the Moon and Sun to the oceans here on earth.
- Current is defined as the horizontal, or sideways flow of water.

- Tide exists because of gravity, and to better understand it we need to look further into the relationsh
between the Sun, Moon, and Earth.

- As we look further into the effect of gravity, we need to explain the motion of each

object around one and another, or their orbital relationship. How does the Earth orbit
the Sun? How does the Moon orbit the Earth? What is the motion in which these planets
orbit one another? Why does this effect the movement of water on Earth?

These questions are only skimming the surface, so lets get started.

THE PROBLEM
Tides on Earth are constantly fluctuating due to the water movement conducted of
several aspects. This can cause hazards, especially to sailors, because the probability
of a rapid rise in vertical water height. On the contrary, a rapid decrease in water
height can be dangerous as well. Humans have measured the difference between the
high and the low tides, and this is called the range of tide.

By measuring the range of tide and logging more specific data (date, time, location), sailors
are able to accurately predict the difference, in feet, between the tidal cycles. This is
concerning especially when sailing atop shallow harbors, because the water level can drop
several feet in an instance. If you are sailing in four-feet of water, and the water level drops
two or three feet, some serious damage to your propellers may be eminent.

Now that we better understand the potential hazards of fluctuating tides, we can focus on
explaining how these tides fluctuate, and better understand the movement of our oceans.
This will help us to be prepared in the possibility of sailing atop a rapid increase or decrease in
tide.

Notice the evidence left

Here are some examples of low tide to visually

http://genius.com/1655758

ORBIT
The Earth is constantly spinning on its own axis, called rotation, which is
about 23.5 degrees. At the same time that the Earth spins on its axis, it also
orbits, or revolves around the Sun. This movement is called revolution. as
explained in chapter four in our eTextbook. Measured from the equator, the
Earth is spinning at about 1,037 mph. Because the Earth spins at about 1,037
mph, and there are 24 hours in one day, it is okay to say the Earths
circumference is roughly 24,888 miles long. So an object on Earth at the
equator, or 0 degrees latitude, will spin around the Earth once in a 24-hour
time span.

http://assets.inhabitat.com/files/2010/03/chile-earthquake-axis.jpg

ORBIT (CONT)
Because the Earths axis is 23.5 degrees tilted away from the elliptical plane
of orbit, we experience seasons. The axis of the Earth is calculated by
measuring the angle the Earths poles make with the orbit that the Earth
makes around the Sun. When the northern hemisphere is experiencing
winter, the land mass is being tilted away from the Sun as Earth continues to
orbit. Because Earth is tilted away from the Sun during winter, it receives less
solar energy, and we experience a drop in temperatures. Earths orbital
period around the Sun is about once a year (Dastrup and Ramjoue Ch. 3).
Note how the axis causes just
180 degrees of the planet to
receive the majority of
incoming solar energy at any
given time.
Look at the pictures of Earth on
this image, and notice the
concentrations of sunlight.

Because the planet stays on its

http://www.universetoday.com/26778/tilt-of-theearth/

F O R C E R E L AT I O N S H I P S

degree axis, the ocean water is kept at equal levels around the planet by the Earth's gravity pulling in
As Earth orbits the Sun, the Moon orbits Earth in a counter-clockwise fashion
simultaneously. The Moon moves eastward approximately 12 degrees each day, and is
about 250,000 miles away. The balance between the gravitational forces of the Sun and
Earth are relatively equal. The Moon has enough gravitational pull on Earth to disrupt the
ocean levels on Earth.
Referencing Newtons Third Law of Motion, it must be true that if the Earth exerts force to
the Moon, the Moon must exert an equal and opposite force to the Earth. This force is
sometimes explained as equal and opposite, but we need to understand that the forces
do not cancel out each other, but rather exert the same amount of force on one another.
Newtons Laws of Motion explain how the planets within our Solar System orbit on an
elliptical plane. The Suns effect is less than half that of the oon but when these two bodies
are in alignment and pulling in the same direction they cause higher high tides and lower
low tides called spring tides.

THE MOON
The Moon is able to disrupt the ocean levels on Earth because its force accelerates water
towards it. This force causes the water to bulge. And where this bulge is occurring at any
given time represents high tide, and areas where this bulge is not present experience low
tide.

As you can see from this diagram,

T H E M O O N ( F U RT H E R E D )

Since the circumference of Earth is approximately 24,800 miles and spins at 1,037 mph, it takes
24 hours to make a complete 360 degree rotation. Like Earth, the Moon also has its own axis.
However, instead of making one successful rotation in 24 hours, it takes 27.322 days (Space).
With the Moon rotating once every 27 days, it is agreeable that it orbits the Earth every 27 days.

For the Earth to make an entire 360 degree rotation it takes 24 hours. The time it takes for the
Earth to re-align in the same spot with the Moon is respectively 24 hours and 50 minutes.

http://www.nfo.edu/tilt.

H I G H A N D LO W T I D E S
Now that we have learned more about how the tides on Earth fluctuate, let us better retain
information relative to the tides themselves.
- There are usually two high tide, and two low tide cycles a day. There is a little over

6 hour gap in-between tides. Everyday, this 6 hour gap occurs approximately 50 minutes later.
So if the low tide cycle occurs at 8:00 A.M. on Monday, it will reoccur around 8:50 A.M. the following
Tuesday.
- Ebbing Current occurs when the tide is falling.
- Flooding Current is experienced when the tide is rising.
- Slack Water is when the tide has reached it highest and lowest points and there is a brief
period where there is no current ebbing or flooding

http://www.boatsafe.com/kids/boattides.gif

T I D A L C YC L E S
We learned in the previous slide that there is roughly a 50-minute linear delay, with a positive
slope, that can measure the daily difference within the 6 hour gap between the tidal cycles.
Now we know the reasoning for this delay is that a day on Earth ends about 50 minutes
before the same part of our planet re-aligns with the Moon to complete a complete 360
degree rotation.

wavelength
amplitude

amplitude

http://oceanlink.island.net/oinfo/tides/tides.html

ADDITIONAL TIDE
IThe
NSuns
F Oeffect
R isMlessAT
I
O
N
than half that of the Moon but when these two
bodies are in alignment and pulling in the same direction they cause
higher high tides and lower low tides called spring tides. On the
opposite side of the spectrum, when the Sun and Moon are right
angles to each other, or perpendicular, their forces are pulling
opposite to one another there is a canceling effect and you get lower
high tides and higher low tides. These tides are defined as neap tides.

C O N C LU S I O N
We have learned the Moons gravitational force on the Earth is what causes
Earths oceans to fluctuate vertically. This fluctuation can be defined as tide.
It is important to understand the tidal cycles, especially for sailors, because
there is a possibility that your boat can receive damage during low tides.
The Earth is exerting equal but opposite force on the Moon. Before
furthering my studies on this topic I had an idea as to how the Moons force
affected Earths oceans, but I was unsure what exactly was affected. I was
intrigued as I learned more about my topic. It relates to chapter 3, 4, and 9
in our eTextbook, and reiterated some important information.

S O U RC E S
" T I D E S . " O C E A N L I N K . B A M F I E L D M A R I N E S C I E N C E S C E N T R E P U B L I C E D U C AT I O N , 1 9 F E B . 1 9 9 8 . W E B . 1 6 D E C . 2 0 1 5 .
<HTTP://OCEANLINK.ISLAND.NET/OINFO/TIDES/TIDES.HTML>.
" T I LT O F T H E E A RT H . " U N I V E R S E T O D AY . N . P. , 1 0 M A R . 2 0 0 9 . W E B . 1 6 D E C . 2 0 1 5 .
< H T T P : / / W W W. U N I V E R S E T O D AY. C O M / 2 6 7 7 8 / T I LT- O F -T H E - E A RT H / > .
"T HE OCEAN' S TIDES EXPLAINED." THE OCEA N'S TIDES EXPL AINED . MOONCONNECTION, 3 APR. 201 5. WEB . 16 DEC.
2 0 1 5 . < H T T P : / / W W W. M O O N C O N N E C T I O N . C O M / T I D E S . P H T M L > .
" H O W D O E S T H E M O O N A F F E C T T I D E S ? " B O AT S A F E K I D S ! B O AT S A F E K I D S ! , N . D . W E B . 1 6 D E C . 2 0 1 5 .
< H T T P : / / W W W. B O AT S A F E . C O M / K I D S / T I D E S . H T M L >
R E D D , N O L A TAY L O R . " D O E S T H E M O O N R O TAT E ? | S PA C E . C O M . " S PA C E . N . P. , 2 8 F E B . 2 0 1 4 . W E B . 1 6 D E C . 2 0 1 5 .
< H T T P : / / W W W. S PA C E . C O M / 2 4 8 7 1 - D O E S -T H E - M O O N - R O TAT E . H T M L > .
S E L I G M A N , C O U RT N E Y. " G R AV I TAT I O N A L I N T E R A C T I O N S O F T H E E A RT H A N D M O O N : B A RY C E N T R I C M O T I O N . " C S E L I G M A N .
N . P. , N . D . W E B . 1 6 D E C . 2 0 1 5 . < H T T P : / / C S E L I G M A N . C O M / T E X T / M O O N S / E A RT H M O O N G R AV I T Y. H T M > .