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Chapter 8: Problem 38

What is the time interval between two successive tides at a given place on the earth?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The approximate time interval between two successive tides at a given place on Earth is 12 hours and 25 minutes.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Tides

Tides are the periodic rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun on the rotating Earth. There are two main types of tides: high tide (when the water level is at its highest) and low tide (when the water level is at its lowest). They occur in a repeating cycle, approximately every 12 hours.
02

Identifying the Tidal Cycle

A complete tidal cycle consists of two high tides and two low tides, which occur in a regular sequence. The time it takes for a high tide to be followed by a low tide or vice versa is called the "tidal period".
03

Understanding the Lunar Day

The Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, while the Moon orbits the Earth every 29.5 days. Since the Moon influences tides, we must take into account the fact that it also moves during the Earth's rotation. This means that the time for the Earth to rotate once relative to the Moon (called a "lunar day") is slightly longer than the Earth's 24-hour rotation. A lunar day is approximately 24 hours and 50 minutes long.
04

Calculating Half a Lunar Day

In order to determine the time interval between two successive tides, we need to find the time it takes for a single high tide to turn into a low tide (or vice versa). Since there are two high tides and two low tides in a lunar day, this means half a lunar day passes between two successive tides. To find the time interval, we divide the duration of a lunar day by 2: Interval = \dfrac{Lunar Day}{2}
05

Inserting the Lunar Day Value

We can now plug in the length of a lunar day (24 hours and 50 minutes) into our equation from Step 4 to calculate the time interval between two successive tides: Interval = \dfrac{24\,hrs\,50\,min}{2}
06

Calculating the Time Interval

After dividing the lunar day by 2, we find the time interval between two successive tides at a given place on Earth: Interval = 12\,hrs\,25\,min Thus, the time interval between two successive tides at a given place on the Earth is approximately 12 hours and 25 minutes.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

State and explain the law of gravitation.

A body is dropped from a certain height and it reaches the ground in \(2 \mathrm{~s}\). Another body which has twice the mass as that of the first body, when dropped reaches the ground in \(4 \mathrm{~s}\). Find the ratio of velocities acquired by them when they reach the ground.

The gravitational constant depends upon (1) the size of the bodies (2) the mass of the bodies (3) distance between the bodies (4) None of these

For a freely falling body, its acceleration as it falls.

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