🔍 Key Concepts

• Wind-generated seas vs. swells and what creates them • The classic three controls on wind wave growth in mid-ocean: wind velocity, fetch, and duration • The difference between tides (gravity of moon/sun) and wind waves

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: which of these choices is related to tides and long-period water motions rather than local wind waves? • Which three items are commonly grouped together in textbooks as the factors that control how large wind waves get? • Think about what would happen on a lake far from the ocean — which of these four factors could still create waves there?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which factors directly involve local wind conditions • Separate gravitational effects that mainly cause tides from factors that cause short-period wind waves • Confirm which three items are usually listed together as: wind speed, fetch, and duration (how long the wind blows)