Oceanography Exam 3
Correct Detailed Solutions | Latest
Updated Version | High Pass Success
Prepare effectively and boost your confidence with this Premium Final Exam Study Guide,
designed to help students review important concepts, strengthen understanding, and improve
overall exam performance.
This comprehensive resource contains accurate exam-style questions with correct detailed
solutions, carefully organized to reflect commonly tested topics and real exam standards. Each
solution includes clear explanations to help simplify difficult concepts, reinforce learning, and
improve problem-solving skills.
The guide is structured in an easy-to-follow format that supports both early preparation and last-
minute revision, making studying more efficient and less stressful.
🔥 Key Highlights
✔ Accurate exam questions covering essential topics
✔ Correct detailed solutions with clear explanations
✔ Focused review of frequently tested concepts
✔ Simple and organized structure for fast revision
✔ Latest updated version for reliable exam preparation
🚀 Why Students Prefer This Guide
• Helps improve understanding of key concepts
• Supports efficient and effective revision
• Strengthens confidence before exams
• Provides realistic exam-style practice
• Helps identify and improve weak areas
,🎯 Perfect For
• Final exam preparation
• Midterm and course revision
• Last-minute study sessions
• Practicing exam-style questions
• Improving overall academic performance
📚 A trusted and practical study resource designed to help students prepare smarter, stay
confident, and achieve exam success.
What is a tide?
The rhythmic rise and fall of sea level.
Is a tide a wave?
Yes! Tides are very long and regular shallow-water waves.
What causes tides?
Gravitational attraction of the sun, moon and earth.
How do we compute gravitational force?
Fg=G(m1*m2)/r^2
According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, what happens to
gravitational force if mass increases?
Gravitational force increases.
According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, what happens to
gravitational force if distance increases?
Gravitational force decreases.
What does Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation tell us?
Every object that has mass in the universe is attracted to every other object.
How does gravity change as two objects move farther apart from one another?
Gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square of the radius of separation.
What is the Nadir?
The point on Earth at any given point in time which is furthest from the moon and
experiences the least gravitational force.
What is the Zenith?
The point on Earth at any given point in time which is closest from the moon and
experiences the greatest gravitational force.
What is Centripetal Force?
The center-seeking force which tethers the Earth and Moon to each other.
Does the moon orbit the earth?
Not exactly. The moon and earth actually rotate around the barycenter of the system.
What is the barycenter of the Earth-moon system?
, Common center of mass which acts as the balance point of the system.
Where is the barycenter located? Why?
1600 km beneath Earth's surface. This is because Earth's mass is much greater than
that of the Moon.
What is a resultant force? What does it do to tides?
The difference between centripetal force and gravitational force. It pushes water into
tidal bulges on each side of the Earth.
What forces produce tides? How?
Tides occur when there is an imbalance between the required centripetal and provided
gravitational forces acting on Earth. The resultant force creates tidal bulges.
What are lunar bulges?
On the ideal Earth, there are two tidal bulges--one near the moon and one away from
the moon.
What are the characteristics of the Ideal Ocean?
Uniform depth, no friction between seawater and sea floor.
At the equator of an ideal Earth, what would tides be like?
There would be two high tides that would be 12 hours apart.
What is the flood tide?
High tide--seawater moves on shore.
What is the ebb tide?
Low tide--seawater moves offshore.
What is a lunar day? How long is it? How does this affect tides?
Time for the moon to orbit Earth once. 24 hours, 50 minutes long. Causes high tides to
be 12 hours and 25 minutes apart.
How does the Sun affect tides?
Creates solar bulges which are much smaller than lunar bulges--one near the sun, one
away from the sun.
As the distance between the moon or sun and Earth increases, how do tide
generating forces change?
As distance increases, forces will decrease by the inverse of the cube of the distance
between the moon or sun and the Earth.
How does the gravitational force exerted on Earth's tides by the Moon compare to
that exerted by the Sun?
Moon exerts more than twice the gravitational pull of the Sun on tides.
What causes high and low tides?
Earth's rotation carries various locations into and out of the tidal bulges, which are in
fixed positions relative to the moon and sun.
What is the Tidal Range?
The vertical difference between high and low tides.
What is a Spring tide? How long is the period between spring tides?
Occurs during new or full moons. Characterized by the greatest tidal range. There are
two weeks them.
What causes a New Moon?
Moon is between the Earth and Sun, so can't be seen from Earth.
What causes a Full Moon?
Moon and Sun are opposite.