Question

Which of the following explains why tides occur every 12 hours and 25 minutes?

A. Variations in the land and depth of water make the tides uneven.
B. It takes 24 hours and 50 minutes for the earth to make a complete rotation.
C. Early scientists misunderstood how to calculate tides, and their error persists to this day
D. In some seasons, the rotation of the earth is slower than others, requiring additional time.

Answer 1

Answer : B

• A lunar day is the time it takes a specific site on the earth to rotate from exact point under the moon to the same point. Unlike the solar day, a lunar day is 24 hours 50 minutes. the lunar day is 50 minutes longer than the solar day because the moon revolves around the earth in the same direction that the earth rotates around its axis. So it takes the earth an extra 50 minutes to catch up.

• In lunar day coastal areas experience two high and two low tides every 24 hours and 50 minutes. High tides occur every 12 hr 25 minutes apart.