Waves and tides
I can explain what waves and tides are and I can identify and describe different types of waves.
- Year 7
Waves and tides
I can explain what waves and tides are and I can identify and describe different types of waves.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Waves are powered by the wind and tides are controlled by the gravitational pull between the moon and Earth.
- The stretch of open water over which the wind blows is called the fetch.
- Constructive waves have a powerful swash and a weaker backwash.
- Destructive waves have a powerful backwash and a weaker swash.
Keywords
Waves - the movement of energy across water
Tides - the regular rise and fall of sea levels caused by the Moon’s and Sun’s gravity pulling on Earth’s oceans
Wind - natural movement of the air
Fetch - the distance over water that wind blows, which affects the size and energy of waves
Common misconception
That waves and tides are the same thing, or that tides are the cause of waves, or that wind causes both waves and tides.
Waves are caused by the wind blowing across the sea, not by the tide. The tide is the regular rise and fall of the sea level regardless of whether there are waves or if the sea is calm.
Equipment
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the force by which a planet, or other large body, draws objects to its centre?
Q2.Which kind of weather will make the largest waves?
Q3.Tides are caused by ...
Q4.Put the definition of high and low tides in the right order.
Q5.Waves can travel long distances, this is called the fetch. The greater the fetch, the __________ the wave will be.
Q6.Match the key term with its definition.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1. are caused by wind.
Q2. are caused by the gravitational pull of the mood.
Q3.The distance a wave travels is called the ...
Q4.Match the term with its definition:
