ICSE Class 9 Geography Question 27 of 28

Hydrosphere — Question 1

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Question 1

You are watching the sea waves from the balcony of a seaside resort in Mumbai on a New Moon Day. Suddenly you noticed rise of sea water and its movement towards the coast. What was this wave and after how much time will it be repeated?

Answer

It was a tidal wave which I observed where the sea water rises and moves towards the coast. Tidal waves occur due to the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the Earth's oceans.

Tidal waves are most prominent during the occurrence of spring tides. Spring tides happen during the new moon and full moon phases when the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun align.

The interval between two consecutive tidal waves is approximately 12 hours and 26 minutes. Thus, I can expect to witness another tidal wave approximately 12 hours and 26 minutes after observing the previous one.