science

Tide table

Tide table is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tide table rather than just read about it. In short: Tide tables, sometimes called tide charts, are used for tidal prediction and show the daily times and levels of high and low tides, usually for a particular location. Tide heights at intermediate times (between high and low water) can be approximated by using the rule of twelfths or more accurately calculated by using a published tidal curve for the location.

Key takeaways

Tide table belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tide table to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tide table from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tide tables, sometimes called tide charts, are used for tidal prediction and show the daily times and levels of high and low tides, usually for a particular location. Tide heights at intermediate times (between high and low water) can be approximated by using the rule of twelfths or more accurately calculated by using a published tidal curve for the location. Tide levels are typically given relative to a low-water vertical datum, e.g. the mean lower low water (MLLW) datum in the US.

Publication and scope Tide tables are published in various forms, such as paper-based tables and tables available on the Internet. Most tide tables are calculated and published only for major ports, called "standard ports", and only for one year — standard ports can be relatively close together or hundreds of kilometers apart. The tide times for a minor port are estimated by the tide-table user manually calculating using the published time and height differences between a standard port and the minor port.

Dates and times The dates of spring tides and neap tides, approximately seven days apart, can be determined by the heights of the tides on the classic tide tables: a small range indicates neaps and large indicates springs. This cycle of tides is linked to the phases of the moon, with the highest tides (spring tides) occurring near full moon and new moon. However, successive (semidiurnal) tides are linked to the Moon's orbital period, thus they are approximately 24/27.3 hours later each day or about 50 minutes but many other observations and considerations are required to develop accurate tide tables. On the Atlantic coast of northwest Europe, the interval between each low and high tide averages about 6 hours and 10 minutes, giving two high tides and two low tides each day, with the highest tides about 2 days after full moon.

Calculation Tide prediction was long beset by the problem of laborious calculations. Before the use of digital computers tide tables were often generated by the use of a special-purpose calculating machine, the tide-predicting machine.

Tide times in art

Time and Tide Bell is an art project made up of bells, designed by sculptor Marcus Vergette, installed at coastal locations in the UK. Each bell rings at high tide, and rising sea levels caused by global warming will change the sounds made by the bells. Tidal Word Wave is an architectural glass artwork created by Rachel Welford and Adrian Riley in Bridlington, East Yorkshire. Found text from the immediate environment is arranged in overlapping patterns arranged according to tide times for that location. New Dawn is a glass artwork by Mary Branson in Westminster Hall, London, with light levels changing according to the tidal level of the River Thames.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tide table

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tide table claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tide table before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tide table ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tide table

In research: Tide table appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tide table in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tide table is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Tables (information), Tide tables, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tide table outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Tide table” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Tide table in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tide table means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tide table out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tide table in simple terms?

Why does Tide table matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tide table?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tide table.