🔍 Key Concepts

• Lunar phases and tide strength – how the alignment of the sun, moon, and earth affects tidal range • Difference between spring tides and neap tides • Meaning of first quarter and third quarter moon positions

💭 Think About

• Are the sun, moon, and earth lined up in a straight line during first and third quarter, or at right angles to each other? How does that affect gravitational pull on the oceans? • Which type of tide has the greatest tidal range (highest highs and lowest lows), and which has the smallest range? • When the moon is half-illuminated (first or third quarter), is the combined pull of sun and moon reinforcing each other or partially cancelling each other?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify whether first/third quarter moons produce the largest or smallest tidal ranges • Recall: spring tides occur near new and full moon; the other named type occurs near first and third quarter • Ignore the distractors (apogean and perigean) unless the question mentions the moon’s distance from Earth, not its phase