Tides

a. What is a tidal range?
A tidal range is the difference between high and low tides.

b. What causes high and low tides?
Tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of the Moon and the Sun as well as the rotational velocity of the Earth, producing a centrifugal force that balances the gravitational attraction between the Earth and the moon, causing great bulges of water to appear. A high tide then occurs when the point is under a bulge and a low tide occurs when the point of the Earth is away from the bulge.

c. What causes Spring and Neap tides?
A spring tide, occurs twice a month throughout the year when the Sun/moon/Earth are in line; resulting in a very big tidal range, thus marking a larger gravitational attraction. Whent he Sun/moon are at 90 degrees to each other, a neap tide results, occurring during the first and last quarter moons.

d. How does tidal range effect the types of organisms and the shape and size of the organisms?
Based on the type of tidal range that an area experiences, it may then be justifiable to state that the diversity of organisms which may inhabit the tidal zones must be able to succumb to the changing tides as the high and low tide markers are the most violent zones - in terms of the energy being released in that area (the crashing of the waves), the amount of food, as well as the endurance of the organism(s) when exposed during low tide. The variety of organisms which would most likely inhabit these areas would range from several types of shellfish, crabs, and vegetation.