Tides Ups and Downs | Lesson Plan

TIDES LESSON PLAN

Ups and Downs

Focus
Forces that cause and affect tides

Grade Level
9-12 (Earth Science)

Focus Question
What causes tides and tidal currents?

Learning Objectives
• Students will be able to explain and model forces that cause
and affect tides.

• Students will be able to analyze variations in tidal patterns

and water levels in selected areas, and infer and discuss
some conditions that may have influenced these variations.

• Students will be able to describe how tides affect our lives

and explain the importance of monitoring tides.

Materials
• Access to the Internet and National Ocean Service education
site (http://www.nos.noaa.gov/education/tides/welcome.html)
• Copies of Appendices A, B, and C, one copy for each student
or student group
• Copies of “Tides and Water Levels Student Worksheet,” one
copy for each student
• Materials for constructing models of the Earth-moon-sun sys-
tem (optional, depending upon students’ approach to Part 2)

Audio/Visual Materials
Optional, depending upon students’ approach to Part 2

Teaching Time
Part 1 (Researching and Exploring Tides): One or two
45-minute class periods [Note: If Internet is not accessible,
a classroom discussion using Background Information and

oceanservice.noaa.gov 1
Ups and Downs | Lesson Plan Tides

access to various text references may be used to complete Part I

of the Tides and Water Levels Student Worksheet. Data for Part
II can be found in Appendices A, B, and C]

Part 2 (Explaining Tidal Phenomena): Two or three 45-min-

ute periods, plus time outside of class for research and prepa-
ration

Seating Arrangement
Part 1: as appropriate for working with Internet resources
Part 2: groups of four or more students

Maximum Number of Students

32

Key Words
Tide
Tidal current
Ebb
Flood
Spring tide
Neap tide
Perihelion
Aphelion
Perigee
Apogee
Lunar cycle

Background
Tides are the periodic rising and falling of ocean waters caused
by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon. The vertical
motion of tides is accompanied by a horizontal movement of
ocean waters called tidal currents. Oceanographers say that
tides rise and fall, while tidal currents ebb (during a falling
tide) and flood (during a rising tide).

For a simple explanation of tides, it is sufficient to consider

only the effects of the moon (the magnitude of the moon’s
effect is about twice that of the sun, since the moon is closer to
the Earth). At any point in a day, one side of the Earth will be
closer to the moon than the opposite side. Ocean waters on the
closer side of the Earth will experience a greater gravitational

2 oceanservice.noaa.gov
Tides Ups and Downs | Lesson Plan

pull from the moon than waters on the opposite side of the
earth (tide generating forces vary inversely as the cube of the
distance from the tide generating object). This causes a “bulge”
in the waters closest to the moon, and creates a high tide. At
the same time, inertial forces on the opposite side of the Earth
causes a similar “bulge” creating another high tide. Low tides
occur at longitudes that are 90° from the longitudes of loca-
tions that are experiencing high tides.

The sun also exerts a gravitational force on ocean waters.

Depending upon the positions of the sun and moon relative
to the Earth, the sun’s gravity may enhance or diminish the
tidal effect caused by the moon. When the sun and moon are
aligned (at the time of full moon or new moon), their gravita-
tional forces act in the same direction and produce more pro-
nounced high and low tides that are called spring tides. When
the sun and moon are at right angles relative to the earth, the
gravitational force of the sun partially cancels out the gravi-
tational force of the moon. The result is less pronounced high
and low tides that are called neap tides. The magnitude of
tides is also affected by the actual distances between the sun,
moon, and Earth: Gravitational attraction is increased when
the Earth is closest to the sun (perihelion) or moon (perigee).
For more information on the causes and types of tides, visit
http://www.nos.noaa.gov/education/tides/welcome.html.

For centuries, people who live and work near seacoasts have
understood the importance of being able to predict tides and
tidal currents. Low tides may prevent ships from entering har-
bors, while high tides may make it impossible for ships to
pass beneath bridges. Tidal currents may significantly increase
the speed of a vessel, or may carry it into dangerous waters.
Recreational boaters who anchor near shore may find them-
selves stranded by a falling tide. Fishermen throughout the
world have learned that catches are likely to be much larger
during certain portions of the tidal cycle than others.

Many people who live thousands of miles from any ocean also
pay close attention to the same lunar cycles that produce tides.
Traditional agricultural practices often prescribe planting and
harvesting during times when the moon is at a specific loca-
tion relative to the Earth. Some traditional forestry practices

oceanservice.noaa.gov 3
Ups and Downs | Lesson Plan Tides

link lunar cycles with specific properties of wood including

strength, resistance to decay, and resonance for musical instru-
ments. Lunar cycles have also been linked with many aspects of
human biology, behavior, and folklore including crime, suicide,
mental illness, birthrates, fertility, werewolves, and vampirism.

The first part of this lesson is intended to:

• introduce students to tides and tidal currents, and improve
their understanding of how these phenomena are measured
and predicted; and to
• introduce students to some of the data available from ocean-
ographic monitoring programs that can be used by anyone
who wants to study the Earth’s oceans.

In the second part of this lesson, students will design and

prepare educational materials that can be used to explain the
fundamental tidal phenomenon as part of introductory middle
school oceanography lessons.

Learning Procedure
[Note: This lesson is based on an activity created by Claire Silva, Biology
Teacher, Langley High School, McLean, VA]

Part 1: Researching and Exploring Tides

1.
Direct students to the Tides and Water Levels tutorials at:
http://www.nos.noaa.gov/education/tides/welcome.html. If you choose
to have students work in groups, you may want to assign dif-
ferent tutorial sections to each student. Have each student
or student group answer questions in Part I of the “Student
Worksheet.” To save class time, you may want to assign this
portion of the lesson as homework.

2.
Review students’ answers to questions on the “Student
Worksheet.” Lead a brief discussion of ways in which knowl-
edge of tides can be useful and important.

3.
Have each student or student group answer questions in Part II of
the “Student Worksheet” using data from http://tidesonline.noaa.gov/
geographic.html or from Appendices A, B, and C.

4 oceanservice.noaa.gov
Tides Ups and Downs | Lesson Plan

Part 2: Explaining Tidal Phenomena

Have students or student groups prepare visual materials that
could be used to explain tides and tidal currents to a 5th or 6th
grade science class. Appropriate materials may include physi-
cal models (e.g., mobiles), visual media (e.g., Powerpoint®
presentations; computer animations), theatrical presentations
(e.g., drama; music; dance), or publications. Materials pro-
duced should support explanations about:
• The influence of the sun and moon
• Spring and neap tides
• Tidal magnitude at perigee, apogee, perihelion, and aphelion

Encourage (and give credit for) creativity! These presentations

offer cross-curricular opportunities, particularly with social
studies, English language arts, and fine arts. Whatever media
students choose to work with, their final presentation should
be accompanied by a list of sources for the information they
present. A good starting point for this activity is the Roadmap
to Resources: Tides & Water Levels (http://www.nos.noaa.gov/
education/tides/supp_tides_roadmap.html), which provides links to
many other sources of data and information about tides.

The Bridge Connection

www.vims.edu/bridge/ – Click on “Ocean Science Topics” in
the navigation menu to the left, then “Physics,” and then the
“Tides” button at the top of the page.

The “Me” Connection

Have students write a short essay on why knowledge about
tides and water levels is (or might be) important in their own
lives.

Extensions
The rise and fall of ocean tides involve huge amounts of ener-
gy. Have students or student groups prepare a report on how
this energy could be captured in a form that could be used by
humans. Reports should include a plausible mechanism for
converting tidal motion into useful energy, a strategy for trans-
porting captured energy to potential users, and a rough esti-
mate of the energy that might be available from tidal sources.
A keyword search on “tide energy” will produce lots of starting
points.

oceanservice.noaa.gov 5
Ups and Downs | Lesson Plan Tides

Resources
http://www.nos.noaa.gov/education/tides/supp_tides_roadmap.html
– NOAA’s National Ocean Service Web site’s Roadmap
to Resources about tides and water levels, with links to
many other sources of tide data and background informa-
tion

http://pao.cnmoc.navy.mil/Educate/Neptune/quest/wavetide/waves.htm
– Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Web
site with information on waves and tides

http://www.edusite.com/sci/tides.htm – Links to educational resourc-

es on ocean science topics

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/tide.htm – Links to internet

resources dealing with tides

http://school.discovery.com/curriculumcenter/oceans/ – Discovery
Channel School resources on ocean science topics

National Science Education Standards

Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry

Content Standard B: Physical Science

• Motions and forces

Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science

• Energy in the earth system

Content Standard E: Science and Technology

• Understandings about science and technology

Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social

Perspectives
• Natural resources
• Natural and human-induced hazards

6 oceanservice.noaa.gov
Tides Ups and Downs | Worksheet

TIDES LESSON PLAN

Tides & Water Levels Student Worksheet

Part I: Background on Tides and Water Levels

Begin your information search by using the text resources pro-
vided by your teacher or by accessing the Internet and logging
onto: http://www.nos.noaa.gov/education/tides/welcome.html
As you read through the Tutorial on Tides and Water Levels,
answer the questions below that correspond to each section of
the tutorial.

What are Tides?

1. What is a basic definition of a tide? Where do tidal waves
originate, and where do they end?
2. What is a high tide? What is a low tide?
3. What is tidal range? What is a tidal current?
4. Compare and contrast a flood and ebb current. When are
they strong? When are they weak?
5. How do tidal currents perform in the open ocean? How do
they perform near the entrances to estuaries?

What Causes Tides?

6. Tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of what two
celestial bodies?
7. What does Newton’s law of universal gravitational state?
8. Which parameter has a greater effect on tidal forces on
Earth?
9. Which celestial body has a greater effect on tidal forces on
Earth? How is this possible? Compare and contrast the
masses and distance of the Earth to the moon and sun.

Gravity, Inertia, and the Two Bulges

10. What is inertia?
11. How does the moon create a bulge?
12. What causes a bulge to be created on the opposite side of
the Earth or the “far side” from the moon?

Changing Angles and Changing Tides

13. Describe how changes in the relative positions of the moon
and sun change in relation to the Earth?

oceanservice.noaa.gov 7
Ups and Downs | Worksheet Tides

14. At what point is the sun at its minimum declination and

its maximum declination?

Frequency of Tides - The Lunar Day

15. Compare and contrast a solar and lunar day. How long is a
lunar day?
16. Why do most coastal areas experience two high tides and
two low tides?
17. How long does it take for high tide to occur? How long is
the time between low and high tide?

Tidal Variations - The Influence of Position and Distance

18. What is the magnitude of solar tides and how are they
expressed?
19. What causes spring tides? What causes neap tides? How
many spring and neap tides occur in a lunar month?
20. How are tide-generating forces affected when the moon is
closest to the Earth (or perigee)? when the moon is farthest
away from the Earth (or apogee)? How does this affect the
tides that are produced?
21. How are tide-generating forces affected when the Earth is
closest to the sun (or perihelion)? when the Earth is far-
thest from the sun (or aphelion)? How does this affect the
tides that are produced?

Types and Causes of Tidal Cycles: Diurnal, Semidiurnal, Mixed

Semidiurnal; Continental Interference
22. If the Earth were perfect, how many high and low tides
would all points on the earth experience in one day? What
causes tidal patterns to change? Why is the water unable
to move freely?
23. Describe a semidiurnal tide. How do the tidal heights
compare in a lunar day? Where might you experience a
semidiurnal tide in the continental United States?
24. Describe a mixed semidiurnal tide. How do the tidal
heights compare? Where might you experience a mixed
semidiurnal tide in the continental United States?
25. Describe a diurnal tide. Where might you experience a
diurnal tide?

What Affects Tides in Addition to the Sun and Moon?

26. How are the magnitudes of tides affected by shorelines? by

8 oceanservice.noaa.gov
Tides Ups and Downs | Worksheet

mid-ocean islands?
27. How does a funnel-shaped bay compare to a narrow inlet
and shallow water?
28. What is the affect of strong tidal rivers on tides in estuar-
ies?
29. What other abiotic factors affect tides? Compare and con-
trast wind and weather patterns that affect tides.

The Importance of Monitoring the Tides and Their Currents

30. Explain why commercial fisherman would be interested in
tidal shifts. How do tides affect their livelihood?
31. Explain the importance of monitoring tides to maneuver
sailing ships. How are today’s ships different from old
sailing ships?
32. Explain why coastal engineers are required to monitor
tides. How do tides affect their planning?
33. Describe why scientists would be interested in monitoring
tides? What could an ecologist learn from tides? an ocean-
ographer? an atmospheric scientist?

How are Tides Measured? - The Old System

34. What United States governmental agency is responsible for
monitoring tides in the United States? How long have they
been monitoring tides?
35. Describe the function and process of a “stilling” well.
36. Before computers, how was water level data recorded?
How was the data processed? (Click on the images in the
tutorial for further explanation.)
37. How did processing water level data change in the 1960s?
38. What were the limitations of measuring water level using
“stilling” wells, pen and ink strip charts and mechanical
punch recorders?

How are Tides Measured? - The New System

39. How has microprocessor based technologies improved
water level monitoring today?
40. How do today’s monitoring stations used acoustics and
electronics to function?
41. What other oceanographic and meteorological parameters
are measured by the new stations?
42. How are geostationary operational environmental satellites
used in conjunction with monitoring stations? How often

oceanservice.noaa.gov 9
Ups and Downs | Worksheet Tides

are the data recorded? How often are the data transmitted?
43. In the event of storms or foul weather, how can the sta-
tions be monitored?

Part II: Analyzing Real-time Water Level Data from

Monitoring Stations
Log onto: http://tidesonline.noaa.gov/geographic.html. “Click” on
MA (Massachusetts) and select Woods Hole. If at any point
there is no data available, please hypothesize on what might
have caused this error? Is there unusual or severe weather at
the monitoring station?

1. How many high and low tides did Woods Hole, MA experi-
ence in the last lunar day? What type of tidal pattern did
Woods Hole experience?
2. What are the tidal heights in Woods Hole, MA?
3. How do the observed and predicted data compare? What
may have caused any differences between the observed and
predicted data for Woods Hole, MA?

Click the Back button twice on your browser or return to http:

//tidesonline.noaa.gov/geographic.html. “Click” on AL (Alabama)
and select Dauphin Island, AL.

4. How many high and low tides did Mobile, AL experience in

the last lunar day? What type of tidal pattern did Mobile
experience?
5. What are the tidal heights in Mobile, AL?
6. How do the observed and predicted data compare? What
may have caused any differences between the observed and
predicted data for Mobile, AL?

Click the Back button twice on your browser or return

to: http://tidesonline.noaa.gov/geographic.html. “Click” on WA
(Washington) and select Seattle, WA.

7. How many high and low tides did Seattle, WA experience

in the last lunar day? What type of tidal pattern did Seattle
experience?
8. Are the tidal heights in Seattle, WA?

10 oceanservice.noaa.gov
Tides Ups and Downs | Worksheet

9. How do the observed and predicted data compare? What

may have caused any differences between the observed and
predicted data for Seattle, WA?

Conclusion questions:
1. Summarize what causes tides. Discuss the effects of tidal
forces and how bulges are formed.
2. Explain why humans are interested in monitoring tides.
What impact do tides have on human life? What impact
might tides have on other organisms?
3. Discuss how tides are monitored. Describe the old and new
methods of monitoring tides.
4. Compare and contrast the tidal patterns of Cape Cod, MA,
Mobile AL, and Seattle, WA. What is the tidal pattern in
your area?

Further Exploration:
1. Using the NOS Web site at http://tidesonline.nos.noaa.gov/
geographic.html, select a tidal gauge that is located near your
area. Monitor the tidal gauge for one month and record
tidal fluctuations. Note any deviation from the predicted
and observed tidal levels. What do you think causes this
deviation?

oceanservice.noaa.gov 11
Ups and Downs | Appendix Tides

TIDES LESSON PLAN

Appendix A

Water Level Data for Monitoring station # 8447930, Woods Hole, MA

12 oceanservice.noaa.gov
Tides Ups and Downs | Appendix

TIDES LESSON PLAN

Appendix B
Water Level Data for Monitoring station #8735180
Dauphin Island , AL

oceanservice.noaa.gov 13
Ups and Downs | Appendix Tides

TIDES LESSON PLAN

Appendix B (page 2)

Water Level Data for Monitoring station #8735180

Dauphin Island , AL

14 oceanservice.noaa.gov
Tides Ups and Downs | Appendix

TIDES LESSON PLAN

Appendix C
Water Level Data for Monitoring station # 9447130 Seattle, WA

oceanservice.noaa.gov 15
Ups and Downs | Appendix Tides

TIDES LESSON PLAN

Appendix C (page 2)
Water Level Data for Monitoring station # 9447130 Seattle, WA

16 oceanservice.noaa.gov