Science.6.9.B

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The student is expected to describe and predict how the positions of the Earth, Sun, and Moon cause daily, spring, and neap cycles of ocean tides due to gravitational forces.
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Knowledge and Skills Statement

Earth and space. The student models the cyclical movements of the Sun, Earth, and Moon and describes their effects.

sequence of recurring events or phenomena; a course or series of events or operations that recur regularly and usually lead back to the starting point

the rise and fall of sea levels that usually occur twice daily, caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth

a physical phenomenon in which one object exerts a pull on another object from a distance; the universal force of attraction that pulls objects toward each other's center of mass and stores energy in or transfers to/from the object via fields of force

a tide just after the first or third quarters of the moon when there is least difference between high and low water

a tide just after a new or full moon when there is the greatest difference between high and low water

Research

Donovan, Deborah. “Science 101.” Science and Children 41, no. 9 (Summer 2004):18–19. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43173673.

Summary: The gravitational pull of both the moon and sun has an impact on the ocean tides.  This article explains the complexities of the monthly and yearly tide cycles in relation to the cyclical path of the Earth and moon.