Final answer:
Three types of seawater motions are waves, tides, and currents. Tides result from gravitational interactions, primarily with the Moon, while waves are energy transfers through the water, causing objects to move in simple harmonic motion. Tide understanding began with Newton's description of gravitational forces.
Step-by-step explanation:
Three types of seawater motions are waves, tides, and currents. Tides are periodic rises and falls in sea level caused by the gravitational interaction, primarily between the Earth and the Moon, and also the Sun. As Earth rotates, the ocean faces these gravitational pulls, creating two tidal bulges on opposite sides of the Earth. Each day, as the Earth rotates, any point on Earth's surface passes through these bulges, experiencing high and low tides approximately twice a day.
Waves are disturbances that transfer energy through matter or space. They can be composed of both transverse (perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer) and longitudinal (parallel to the direction of energy transfer) motion, with ocean waves being a complex combination of the two. When waves move through the water, objects like seagulls move in a pattern known as simple harmonic motion.
Understanding Ocean Tides:
The origin of Earth's ocean tides has intrigued scholars for centuries. The modern understanding began with Isaac Newton, who described tides as the result of gravitational tidal forces exerted by celestial bodies. These tidal forces stretch and compress Earth and its oceans, leading to the observable rise and fall of sea levels globally, typically observed as two high tides and two low tides each day.