Tides, Waves & Currents
Know that the ocean has tides (water level rises and falls twice a day, caused mainly by the Moon's gravity), waves (caused by wind), and currents (rivers of water flowing through the ocean that carry warmth and nutrients around the world)
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe tides as the regular rise and fall of water level, caused by the Moon's gravity
- Explain that waves are caused by wind blowing across the water surface
- Describe ocean currents as large flows of water that carry heat and nutrients around the globe
The lesson
The ocean never sits still. Water moves in three big ways: tides, waves, and currents. Each one moves the water for a different reason.
At the beach, Priya feels a strong wind blowing across the water. She watches waves roll in and crash on the sand. The wind is pushing the water into waves.
Ocean currents are like giant rivers flowing inside the ocean. They carry warm water from sunny parts of the world to colder places, and they carry nutrients, tiny bits of food, that help ocean plants and animals grow.
Remember it this way: tides move up and down, waves are pushed by wind, and currents flow like rivers across the whole ocean.
Tides rise and fall from the Moon's pull, waves come from wind, and currents are ocean rivers that carry warmth and nutrients around the world.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.