• Question: I learnt about this earlier on this year, but don't get how the waves have anything to do with the moon?

    Asked by maddiec to Christina, Jess on 28 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Jess Bean

      Jess Bean answered on 28 Jun 2013:

      The tides in the sea are made by the gravitational pull of the moon. Waves are mainly made by wind.

      When the moon is directly above the sea, it is like a really big magnet that attracts all the water towards it. This makes the tide rise. At the same time the water on the complete opposite side of the earth also rises because of another force called centrifugal force. This is the same force that makes you swing out on a merry-go-round. If you think of the earth as a merry-go-round the water pulled out by the moon does the same thing as the earth is spinning around as well.

      Low tides are the areas where there is no pull by the moon!

    • Photo: Christina Pagel

      Christina Pagel answered on 28 Jun 2013:

      Also just to say that the magnet type pull from the moon is due to gravity! The moon actually pulls everything towards it a bit but water can respond more to the pull than solid rock…

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