Name: ______________________

Date: _______

Tides and Moon Phases

Introduction: For this project you will analyze tide data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). You will be comparing the predicted highest high tides and lowest low tides in a
month to the phases the moon is in at the same time. You will analyze the tides
predicted for the month of January 2011.
The NOAA has about 3000 stations that collect
tide data from all over the country. The values
you will be analyzing were predicted for a station
at the end of Manhattan in New York City in a
place called The Battery. To the right is a map of
where the station is as well as a picture of the
station itself (inside the shed are the scientific
instruments measuring data all the time). As you
can see, it is right next to the water (and some
instruments are in the water).
Pre-Questions:
1. How many high tides occur most days?
_______________________________________
2. How many low tides occur most days?
_______________________________________
3. Why do the tides occur?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Problem: Are the tides affected by the phases of the moon?
Hypothesis: Your hypothesis should predict what phase(s) the moon will be in when tides are furthest from
the average (higher and lower). Try to think about what else besides the moons gravity that might help
cause tides.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Procedure:
1. Use the Tide Predictions for January 2011 data table to plot the low tide data on the prepared graph.
Connect each data point with a line. Most days will have two data points.
2. Label the line Low Tide.
3. Use the Tide Predictions for January 2011 to plot the high tide data on the prepared graph.
Connect each data point with a line. Most days will have two data points. Use a different color than
used in step 1 if possible.
4. Label the line High Tide.
5. Find, circle and label the following locations on your graph: highest low tide, lowest low tide, highest
high tide, lowest high tide.
6. Use the Moon Phases for January 2011 data to find the date for each phase on the plotted graph.
Circle each date and label the phase that occurs next to that date on plotted graph.
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Data Analysis:
Use your graph to complete the following questions:
1. On what date was the lowest low tide? ________________ What was the tide height? ________
2. On what date was the highest low tide? ________________ What was the tide height? ________
3. On what date was the lowest high tide? ________________ What was the tide height? ________
4. On what date was the highest high tide? ________________ What was the tide height? ________
5. When the high tides were at their highest for the month, were the low tides also at their highest? If
not, where were they at? Explain.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
6. Is there any relationship between the lowest high tides of the month and the highest low tides?
Explain.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
7. On your graph you can notice there are two times during the month when the high tides were higher
than normal and the low tides were lower than normal. What two phases of the moon occurred
around these times?
Phase #1: _________________________

Phase #2: _________________________

8. On your graph you can also notice there are two times during the month when the high tides were
lower than normal and the low tides were higher than normal. What two phases of the moon
occurred around these times?
Phase #1: _________________________

Phase #2: _________________________

Conclusions:
1. How did your hypothesis stand up? Does the phase of the moon have an effect on the height of the
tides? Explain.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
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2. In the space below draw a picture of the position of the Sun, Earth and Moon when the lowest low
tides occurred.

3. A spring tide (when high tides are higher and low tides are lower than average) occurs around the

time of the new moon and full moon. Neap tides (when high tides are lower and low tides are higher
than average) occur around the time of the first and third quarters. The diagram below shows when
the spring and neap tides occur. Using the tide data from January 2011 included in this experiment,
label the diagram below with the dates of the spring and neap tides that occurred.

Date: _____________

Date: _____________

Date: _____________
Date: _____________

4. Which tides are higher than normal during a spring tide, low or high tides? Based on the diagram
above explain why you think this happens. (Hint: it has to do with gravity)
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Investigate Further: Why does the Sun have less influence on the tides than the Moon? You might think
that it is because the Sun is farther away than the Moon. However, its a little more
complicated than that.
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Tide Predictions for January 2011

New York City
date
low tide (feet)* high tide (feet)*
1/1/2011
-0.3
5.1
1/1/2011
4.1
1/2/2011
-0.3
5.2
1/2/2011
-0.5
4.2
1/3/2011
-0.3
5.2
1/3/2011
-0.5
4.3
1/4/2011
-0.3
5.2
1/4/2011
-0.6
4.3
1/5/2011
-0.3
5.1
1/5/2011
-0.6
4.3
1/6/2011
-0.2
4.9
1/6/2011
-0.4
4.2
1/7/2011
0
4.7
1/7/2011
-0.3
4.1
1/8/2011
0.2
4.5
1/8/2011
-0.1
4
1/9/2011
0.5
4.2
1/9/2011
0.2
1/10/2011
0.7
4
1/10/2011
0.4
3.9
1/11/2011
0.9
3.9
1/11/2011
0.6
3.7
1/12/2011
1
3.9
1/12/2011
0.7
3.5
1/13/2011
0.9
3.9
1/13/2011
0.7
3.4
1/14/2011
0.7
4
1/14/2011
0.5
3.4
1/15/2011
0.5
4.2
1/15/2011
0.3
3.5
1/16/2011
0.2
4.4

date
low tide (feet)* high tide (feet)*
1/16/2011
0.1
3.7
1/17/2011
-0.1
4.7
1/17/2011
4
1/18/2011
-0.2
5.1
1/18/2011
-0.5
4.3
1/19/2011
-0.5
5.3
1/19/2011
-0.8
4.5
1/20/2011
-0.7
5.5
1/20/2011
-1
4.8
1/21/2011
-0.9
5.5
1/21/2011
-1.1
4.9
1/22/2011
-0.9
5.3
1/22/2011
-1.1
5
1/23/2011
-0.7
5.1
1/23/2011
-0.9
5
1/24/2011
-0.5
4.8
1/24/2011
-0.6
1/25/2011
-0.2
4.9
1/25/2011
-0.3
4.5
1/26/2011
0.1
4.9
1/26/2011
-0.1
4.2
1/27/2011
0.1
4.7
1/27/2011
0
3.9
1/28/2011
0.1
4.7
1/28/2011
0.1
3.8
1/29/2011
0
4.6
1/29/2011
0
3.8
1/30/2011
-0.1
4.7
1/30/2011
-0.1
4
1/31/2011
-0.3
4.8
1/31/2011
4.1

*Height is measured from an average

Moon Phases for

January 2011
New Moon
First quarter
Full Moon
Third Quarter

Jan. 4
Jan. 12
Jan. 19
Jan. 26

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1/1/2011
1/2/2011
1/3/2011
1/4/2011
1/5/2011
1/6/2011
1/7/2011
1/8/2011
1/9/2011
1/10/2011
1/11/2011
1/12/2011
1/13/2011
1/14/2011
1/15/2011
1/16/2011
1/17/2011
1/18/2011
1/19/2011
1/20/2011
1/21/2011
1/22/2011
1/23/2011
1/24/2011
1/25/2011
1/26/2011
1/27/2011
1/28/2011
1/29/2011
1/30/2011
1/31/2011

Height (feet)

January 2011 Tides

6
5.8
5.6
5.4
5.2
5
4.8
4.6
4.4
4.2
4
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2
3
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-1
-1.2
-1.4

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Date