Moon and Tides
By zachary,tadd,and sam
The Moon
The moon has four main phases.The first one is the full moon.Thats when the moon is all lit up.Then there is a 1st quater moon when the light is on the right side of the moon.Then there is the 3rd quarter moon when the light is on the left side. When there is a new moon there is a tiny amount of light shining off the moon appearing dark in color.
The Different Tides
There are two main tides; the high tide and the low tide. Some shorelines experience two almost equal high tides and two low tides each day. This us called a semi-diurnal tide. Some locations experience only two high and one low tide each day. This is called a diurnal tide. The tides are caused by the rise and fall of sea levels. These are caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth. One use of knowing the high and low tides are for surfers and fisherman.
The Effect of the Moon and the Tide
The moon and the tide are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun. High tide occurs when a body of water is facing the moon and the moon is pulling the water toward it with its gravity. When the moon is neither overhead or on the opposite side of the Earth, a body of water settles back into low tide. So these two work together to determine the tide.
Predictable Patterns
The predictable patterns of the moon and tides is due to the Moon moving around the Earth and not always in the same place at the same time each day. So, each day, the times for high and low tides change by 50 minutes.
Effects of No Moon
There are many effects if we had no moon. First there wouldn't be extreme high and extreme low tides. Second with no moon the Earth may get hit with asteroids that would have hit the moon instead of the Earth. Lastly, the rotational speed of the Earth could be affected causing extreme weather like Mars. Not having the moon could have extreme consequences of the Earths existance.