How the Moon Moves the Sea
Discover how lunar gravity turns entire oceans into planetary waves. Learn to read the shoreline's daily shifts, understand the mystery of the far-side tidal bulge, and witness the power of tidal bores.
Like Duolingo, but for How the Moon Moves the Sea. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
22 levels across 4 sections, about 44 minutes end to end, roughly 9 days at five minutes a day. It moves through What You See at the Shore; The Gravitational Pull; Sun, Coastlines, and Extreme Tides; and The Planetary Tug-of-War. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in How the Moon Moves the Sea
- Regular waves that surfers ride are created by wind blowing across the surface of the water
- Tides that raise and lower the overall sea level are created by the gravitational pull of the Moon (and Sun)
- The Moon moves massive bodies of water as a whole, while wind pushes only the surface layer
- A tide is actually a wave, but on a massive, planetary scale
- The crest of a tidal wave stretches thousands of miles across an entire ocean basin
- The wavelength of a tide is so long that a person on the beach only sees a fraction of it over many hours
- A regular wave breaks because its energy passes in a matter of seconds
- A tidal wave cycle unfolds over roughly 12 to 24 hours from crest to trough
- Because the tidal cycle takes hours, humans observe it as a creeping rise or fall of water rather than a crashing crest
- The Moon's gravitational pull acts on all water, but the difference across a small area is too microscopic to notice
- Noticeable tidal bulges require thousands of miles of open, connected ocean water to gather and shift
- Enclosed lakes and pools do not have enough water volume or span across Earth to produce an observable tide
- Wind waves break when the water becomes shallow compared to the wave's height
- When the Moon brings high tide, deeper water over sandbars or reefs makes wind waves break softer or not at all
- When the tide drops, shallower water forces incoming wind waves to peak up and break more abruptly
- Most open ocean coasts experience two high tides and two low tides roughly every 24 hours (a semidiurnal cycle)
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives How the Moon Moves the Sea the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What pulls the sea level up and down over the day to make tides?
Get it right to open this lesson and 21 more in the app.
Where How the Moon Moves the Sea takes you
- 1
What You See at the Shore
- Distinguishing Wind Waves from Lunar Tides
- Reading the Daily Rhythm of the Tides
- 2
The Gravitational Pull
- Why There Are Two High Tides, Not One
- The 50-Minute Daily Shift
- 3
Sun, Coastlines, and Extreme Tides
- When the Sun Joins the Tug: Spring and Neap Tides
- How Coastlines Shape Giant Waves and Tidal Bores
- 4
The Planetary Tug-of-War
- How Tidal Friction Reshapes the Earth and Moon
4 sections · 7 units · 22 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
How the Moon Moves the Sea is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start How the Moon Moves the Sea today.
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