Kace was glad he got it right and was learning a little bit about the moon. I mean even so from afar it did look a little bit like a piece of cheese. I mean that is why his older cousin said. Anywho back onto the lesson. Now what did he know about tides? He chuckled and remembered being trampled by some of them at the beach. They could be strong and forceful. He raised his hand and he couldn't help but laugh at Zeke's imitation of a wave sound. He thought it was adorable.

"Professor I know that waves like at a beach can be really strong and can take you under if the current is strong enough. I am not quite sure what makes the current stronger though.." That was still stumped on. He agreed with Noel that it could make you drown.

Dante did not know much about tides. Though he knew about tidal waves. But that is not what Professor Airey was looking for. What he liked to do did not depend on the tides like someone he knew. But whatever.

"Well, it is a brand of laundry detergent."

Technically it was Tide and don't ask how he knows this.

So today's lesson was all about tides. Lux was happy to hear that because she really didn't know much about them. The galoshes suddenly made a lot more sense. There was no way she wanted her nice shoes to get wet. Out of her bag they went and onto her feet.

What did she know about tides? Hmm. Lux gave it a moments thought before raising her hand. " I know that surfers rely on tides and ride them. Oh, and there are high tides and low tides. High tides cover cover more shore than low tides."

Toby had THANKFULLY not really been following what Airey was saying the that Gryffindor girl, so he'd ended up zoning out a little to update his notes. A development that his RPer was very thankful for, in all honesty, because... that was still a bit of an awkward topic for this teenage boy's mind.

SO. SOOOOOOOOOO. So. Notes were made, kind of, with Toby trying to get the most important points down, and casually skipping over the part about being consumed by the sun in five billion years 'cause that was just a tad negative for him. But ayoooooo, A POINT. Yaaas. Toby was proud of himself for that, and grinned at Airey, before quickly scribbling down what he mentioned about the Asteroid Redirect mission. He had every intention of reading about it later but... well... we'll see.

Okay, so... Toby had NOT brought golashes along. Because he owned nothing of the sort, and there had really been no time to procure them. Or really... find out what they were. He looked around at the others at this point, to see if there was everything they all had that he DIDN'T, only to find that they were... shoe... things. Okay, well, he was already wearing shoes, so wasn't too fussed about his shortcomings in providing his own materials for the lessons.

TIDES THEN. What did he know about them? ... Very little, considering he lived in coastal town. Still, he had something to provide, and so raised his hand.

"In some places, the tides are, like... big. I mean, there's a huuuuuge distance between where the water's edge is at high tide and where it is at low tide. In some towns there are beaches, but at high tide they're completely covered and you would be walking down the steps and straight into the sea, but at low tide the water is waaaaaaaaaay out there. The difference is huge, y'know?" DID he? Maybe not, Toby wasn't the most eloquent when it came to explaining things. "Where I live, there's not a huge difference between high and low tide. Can't be more'n....... I dunno... a thirty foot difference between how much land is covered in water at high tide and how much is covered at low tide." Like, thirty feet in distance rather than depth. Yes. "So yeah. Some are big, and some are small." Nod. Nod nod.

Angel looked at the Professor before she raised her hand, did he want the long version or the short version, she had learned about this at school. "Professor the tides cause erosion of rocks and other part of the land, you see the tides play a big part in this because you have a high tide and a low tide, when the tide is high it will cause a lot more of the land to be underwater, but when it is low then that will make that part of the land visible again." Angel thought that it would be amazing if she could tell the rest of the story she had but she thought it was only fair to let someone else take over.

'So rest assured, ladies, the Moon's period has nothing to do with yours.'

LMAAAOOOOOOOOO!

Grayson had lost it. Nothing was gonna stop him from laughing because MAN, what a comment. LOLOLOL. As long as they kept to the subject of moons and didn't talk about that, dude was happy. The topic wasn't one they should be talking about because man did it make him uncomfortable. Kinda disgusting and all.

Lolol, what maturity?

Composing himself, the Slytherin started paying attention again. Sure, Flammy was exuberant and about as sane as a monkey, but he was kinda talking sense and all. Plus, the things being mentioned here might be good for those pesky exams coming up that his mother had started reminding him about. Seriously, man.

And how did people know so freaking much about tides?

What did he know? Freaking nothing, that's what.

Still, he was gonna answer anyways. "Like Adi said," 'Sup, Adster. "Surfers use the tides to their advantage when they go surfing. And so do people like sailors and the navy in general. Kinda need to know about the moon and how it'll affect the tides before they set out so that they're not setting out on dangerous waters."

Zhenya's face cracked into a big grin as she watched the stylish, immaculate Professor Flamsteed broke out into a song. It was a song she assumed, she had never heard it before. But it was fun. She wrote down what he was saying on her parchment, and continued to listen to his teaching.

Zhenya didn't know a lot about tides. She had only been to the ocean a small handful of times, but the tiny bit she did know about would surely be an answer, even if only a little bit of information. She raised her hand and waited to be called on. "Tides are the rising and retreating level of the ocean. It creeps up over the sand, then retreats back over it." Yep, that was all she knew. Oh, besides the fact that the moon controlled it, but they had already covered that.

Hmm. Marsha had grown up pretty close to the Bristol Channel in Wales and she knew that the tides, like every one said rose and fell. Raising her hand, she added ”Yeah, they affect the fishing industry and also things like the cruise ship holiday industry in the muggle world… oh, and my aunt mentioned something about the oil boats and submarines and things all having to be careful with their docking times.”

Yup.

She sat silently for a little bit longer until someone made a comment that brought up something another relative had mentioned. ”Oh!” She said softly as she raised her hand again. ”But… Sir, isn’t there something like the ocean tides on opposite sides of the earth match with their tides? That would mean it isn’t a case of being close to the moon as they both don’t see the moon at the same time… so is it something to do with the way the moon works with those plates that were mentioned earlier?”

Confusion!

Notes were being taken. Sloppy ones, yes, but notes nonetheless. Sloppy, sloppy, sl...wait, what was that? Really, Professor? Did he really have to go there?

Anyway, awkward moment aside, Heather was still paying attention. "Tides affect the ocean currents, which affect the climate." Or that was the way she understood it, anyway. She was pretty sure it was right, though she couldn't remember the exact connection there.

....Eden BEAMED at Professor Flamsteed when he said he read her article....KDHWQEHFIQRHFIHIFGH. She was just--WOW WOW WOW. Her cheeks turned RED and she soaked in the praise like a plant soaks in SUNLIGHT.

"Thank you, Professor. I worked hard on that--" and....he was explaining BOOM things. Eden jotted down a good bit of what he said because it was just fascinating, wasn't it? She smiled a d nodded. "Yeah--makes sense, Professor--got it--" Eden was very ill informed about SPACE HAPPENINGS. So. Yeah.

And Professor Flamy was always so good at not making his students feel completely let down about not knowing stuff. Mhmm.

But the moon? Eden scratched her temple with the tip of her quill--probably getting ink on her face??? and frowned. She honestly didn't think the moon being gone would make MUCH difference, but she didn't want to say this ALOUD. Because she LIKED the moon! The moon was pretty and shiny and ROMANTIC at times, yes? But she didn't say anything...and...yes, they were moving on.

And good THING Eden hadn't said anything becaaaause turns out, the moon was SUPER important. Like..tidal importance...HEHE. Was Professor Flamsteed singing a....really ancient muggle song? EH? EDEN HEARD THAT!! It made her chuckle.

Eden knew almost zero things about tides. So. She just raised her hand kind of timidly. "Um...tides have a schedule..thing...right? Like a high tide, a low tide, and....stuff??" She wasn't sure.

SPOILER!!: this

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

A vein in the professor's forehead began to pulsate at the mention of the 'd' word - especially since it SEEMED as though Miss Fields was stating this all as fact. He was about to, firmly, reminded her that such talk was better suited for other environments...she qualified her answer.

Good. That vein could go back to normal now.

"There are indeed many lunar deities described in the mythologies of cultures all over the world, both male and female," he replied delicately.

And then, miraculously, he desensitized himself from what the first year was most likely hinting at.

"Actually, there is no scientific proof of such a claim," he informed, his eyes mostly falling on the faces of all the young women. "It is simply a coincidence that that cycle and lunar cycles are about the same. In fact, there had even been some pseudo-scientific claims that because the human brain consists of 80% water that lunar phenomena would disturb the balance in our heads and cause lunacy."

But this, like astrology, was all pesudo-scientific hokum. Bah humbug.

He paused for a moment to claps his hands together.

"So rest assured, ladies, the Moon's period has nothing to do with yours."

Was Flamsteed talking about what she thought he was talking about? Really? Awkward. Penelope looked down at her notes. She hadn't expected Flamsteed of all people to be talking about that. There were certain similarities between the lunar cycle and that other cycle, but as Professor Flamsteed had said, the cycles had nothing to do with each other. Moving on to the important stuff that she might actually have to remember...

SPOILER!!: tides

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

THERE WE GO! THERE WAS THE ONE SPECIFIC BIT HE WAS LOOKING FOR.

Of course, everything else was of equal importance. Just not the focus of today's lesson.

"The tide is high but I'm hooooooooooooolding on...I'm gonna be your nuuuuuuuumber one," he hummed while doing a bit of an exaggerated dance. The man was only functioning on a few hours of sleep having spent the entire night in the Gryffindor common room juggling to beat the world record. Give the astronut a little bit of a break today, kiddos. "TIDES! YES!"

CELEBRATORY POSE HAPPENING! HUZZAH!

"Before we get caught up in tides," he manly giggled - HAHA he made a funny! "Let's recap. The Moon controls the tides," he began, lifting the index finger on his right hand to begin counting. "It helps regulate our climate slowing the Earth's rotation and creating our 24 hour days, nights would be MUCH darker, and it helps maintain our axial tilt."

By now he had all four fingers and thumb raised on his hand.

WAS. THAT. NOT. FASCINATING?!

"While all these are important, today we are going to be focusing on tides," he continued, casting curious glances down at everyone's shoes. "I trust you all brought galoshes, yes? You'll be needing those soon so please slip those on." He paused again to clear his throat. "I would like to turn discussion to you all first. What do you know about tides?"

Well, besides the Moon's influence that is. Been there, done that!

They were going to be focusing on tides. Penelope pulled her galoshes out of her bag and slipped them on. So, what were they going to be doing that required galoshes. Whatever it was, it was probably related to tides and the moon. What did she know about tides, other than that the gravitational pull of the moon had something to do with tides? "Tides affect coastal ecosystems." She probably could have thought of more to say, but right now she was busy wondering why they needed galoshes.

THREE POINTS. Dot was delighted. Just. Delighted. With herself. With the professor. With the class. With the moon and the stars and tides, in particular, today. She grinned broadly at the professor and gave him a thumbs' up. Carry on, Mr. StarMan.

Y'know... she really didn't know anything about the tides. They were watery punches to the face caused by the moon and its pushy nature. Everyone had already said pretty much that, and Dot didn't have anything useful to add. No point repeating someone else, right?

Instead, she adjusted her wellies and poked them out in the aisle so Mr. StarMan could see that her wellies had polka dots. Geddit? Dots for Dottie.

So from the forming of the moon, to the function of the moon, to tides. Okay at least they were going in a pattern. What did she know about tides..........Hand up time. "Tides are the fluctuating sea levels that are affected by the gravitational pull of the sun and mostly the moon, as well as the rotation and position of the earth." That was pretty much the summary of basic tide description as far as she knew it. She avoided the terms ebb and 'flow' due to being disturbed by a fellow students elaboration and commentary of what she knew about the moon. Her ears turned slightly pink and she shifted uncomfortably when the professor breached the subject as well......awkweird......

She picked up her black and white striped galoshes and slipped them on as she was instructed to do. Did this mean that they got to go play in a tide? That would be a good class......

Michael saw no point in adding his answer when it was pretty much the same as everyone else. He did however let out a snort of laughter at the young Slytherin's answer.

Classic!!!

Marigold was having a hard time staying awake, honestly. Not that the lesson was boring, not at all - plus, Flamsteed was VERY excited about tides, which was awfully endearing for her favorite professor. The problem was that she had stayed up ALL NIGHT catching up with Bristol, and honestly, she had a LOT to talk about. It wasn't a good idea to do that before the first day back, but hey, it was her last year. She could do whatever she wanted. Senioritis was hitting its mark early.

Yawn. "Tides can cause tidepools, which reveal lots of AWESOME underwater creatures that are usually covered by the water b'cause the moon pulls the water back except sometimes the water is stuck in crevices." It was fascinating, y'know?

Zander was actually trying to participate in this particular lesson. You know, show Professor Flamsteed that his passing OWL grade was well deserved. Except for... Well... All he happened to know about tides was already said. There wasn't anything new or useful he could add to the discussion, so instead he just jotted down some notes as he bobbed his head up and down in agreement. Most people had pretty good answers, mhm. Forget Ravenclaw, this entire school was filled with geniuses. Except for Zahra Kettleburn. Not her.

As for the singing... Erm. Maybe it was for the best that Professor Flamsteed had ended up a professor... and not a performer. Ahem. We love you, sir. We really doooo.

Ophelia had been quiet all class, taking notes and letting the other students talk. And for that, Flamsteed was probably blessed. Because once the little blonde got going on a subject, the accelerator sped up to 100 so fast your head could spin. And this was admittedly one of her favorite classes, which was also not going to help her chill out. It was always so fun in here, what with the teacher jumping up and down and moving all about. Though sometimes she thought he had too much energy. It just got a little crazy in here sometimes, that was all.

Except now her left hand was CRAMPING up like crazy from speed-writing and she had a smudge on her forehead. Not that she minded. The fast pace of the class meant things never got boring. Though, the little blonde knew little about tides. The ocean was not her division at all, especially since she almost drowned at age three when they went to the beach. Since then, the thirteen year old preferred to stay on land, where she had more control over what happened.

Anyway.....

What did she know about tides? The third year already said knew what she knew about tides. And that was almost nothing. They carried some sea creatures away and some could swim against the tide, and they made waves.... possibly. Okay, the poor child wasn't a marine scientist, she was a land explorer who wanted to discover new territory one day. So give her a break.

Figuring she wanted to say something and break the silence, Ophelia stuck her inked up hand in the air, ignoring the splotches.

"Well, don't some tiny little microscopic creatures rely on the tide to move? They can't move on their own, so they just get swept up in the tide and go along their way." Not much to do with the who astronomy thing, but it was something about tides. She was trying. That was important, right? Right.

Pulling out her purple galoshes, Ophelia placed them on her feet and waited for the next instruction. Weirdly, until now, the Ravenclaw had no idea what galoshes were. She thought they were a type of cheese before she asked. Her family never really went to the beach, and they always just called the inventions 'water shoes.' Though pull out your water shoes doesn't sound nearly as cool as pull out your galoshes. Actually, galoshes might be her new favorite word. Into the margin it went, along with the rest of the useless stuff Ophelia had a tendency to write down.

……..The Head of House was …erm…. Fascinating ..wasn’t he?

His Professors at Charms School were nothing compared to this man right here. It was kind of refreshing , insane, but refreshing. Obviously, the Gryffindor had dropped his mouth open when after saying the correct answer, the man had jumped from one desk to the other and then jumped on his. He was afraid that the desk would break under the weight of a full grown man but it didn’t and he did seem to know what he was doing. So that meant he jumped desks a lot. Was it a Gryffindor thing? Because they had to jump on desks in Charms class as well and he knew that Professor Quigley was an Gryffindor or else he wouldn’t have been at the party.

He quickly scribbled down the notes about that the Moon controls the tides and that it helped the climate to slowly rotate the earth , creating 24 hours a day. So far he understood it until he wrote down axial tilt. “Quick question Sir, what is axial tilt?” he asked so that he could scribble it down as well. The more notes for his OWLs the better.

Kicking off his shoes and putting on his galoshes that he bought, surprisingly at a muggle store, Yoongi tried to think what he knew about tides while being busy putting on his shoes. “Tides can trigger earthquakes”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

...
"Professor," Zeke started hand raised to get the man's attention..." tides go," and then he conducted his demonstration, his arm waving about on thin air, with a "fwooooossshhhhhccchhhrrrfwooooossshhhhh," because apparently that's what crashing waves sounded like. Yep. This was legit.

Did he want to see it again?

The professor was puzzled. Puzzled because he had no idea how to respond to that. Other than apparently standing there, his head turned slightly, with his lips pursed as he half smiled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saz Hale

Abby thought and raised her hand and said "Tides could mean many things like the ocean hitting a beach but it is mostly when the sea withdraws further out from the land and then returns the next day at a certain time" Abby had read about this somewhere

"Yes, very good. That is the general gist of things."

They would work on the wording in a bit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenSnake

...
There are spring tides and neap tides, which are the high and low tides, respectively...or is it the other way around?" Natalia wasn't sure and couldn't remember the specifics. "It all has to do with the position of the moon...right?" And waves. Waves were cool.

"Excellent," he applauded. And since she had brought them up, he would just elaborate on this bit right now. "While the name 'spring tide' may create the thought that it is a tide that occurs during a specific time of year, it does not. A spring tide occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth all line up at a new or full moon and thus their gravitational pulls reinforce each other and create the highest tides and the lowest tides. A neap tide, by contrast, occurs when the Moon is at first or third quarter and it and the Sun's gravitational pulls are working against one another in two different directions. Thus, the overall effect is that high tides are lower than average and the low tides are higher than the average."

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustAlice

...
okay. What? That was a lot of information at once, and Rowan couldn't make her hand write that fast. She wasn't used to learning like this, and it was a bit intense... "Professor, slow down..."

Did that mean he needed to teach the lesson in slow motion? He checked his sundial watch curiously and then shook his head. "Have a schedule to keep," he nodded. "But you are more than welcome to stop by my office with questions later if you wish."

And, really, the Flamsteed only had one speed. Ludicrous speed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpiritWolfe Malfoy

What they were talking about tides now? Weren't that not only a second ago speaking about the moon? Hady shifted in her seat, quill dangling from her fingers in a moments pause. Slowly lifting her free hand into the answer she gave her answer, "A tide is the ride and fall of water..uh the sea level is what I mean." Yeah she just worded it sorta weirdly. Professor Airey got what she meant though right? Hopefully.

Now it was back to note taking.

He nodded and gave the Slytherin a thumbs up. Yup yup. That was the gist of things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Govoni

Jotting a few things down, Gabe raised his hand, amusement coloring his voice. "They're critical to speciation."...which Gabe had attitude about because he wasn't a fan of.......creatures. Any creatures...unless they served some greater purpose. It was a crude point of view, but his experiences hadn't helped in warming up to the idea of them. Though, this didn't take away from the fact that it was fascinating stuff.

"....which, considering bodies of water, means that new species are given the opportunities to evolve thanks to the tides rising and receding, and currents....with adapting from salt water to fresh water, and visa versa."

...or so he'd read.

"An excellent point, Mr. Banner," he nodded. "Something we all ought to keep in mind and be thankful for."

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanyjj

...
"The highest and lowest tides normally occur during Full and New Moons, riiight?" she said with her hand raised. Again, the association with the Moon.

"They do indeed!" he cheered, snapping his fingers excitedly at the Hufflepuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hey Ju

...
Moon, Earth, KABOOM and whatnot. There seemed to have a lot of explosions when it came to Astronomy. Anyhow, the key word for now was 'tides', apparently. Agatha ran her hand through her beeeautiful hair and lazily looked around. If she knew anything about tides? "Sometimes it's safe to swim, some other times it's not." Agatha offered with a shrug.

Mmmmmmmmmm...sure? Yeah. Sure. He nodded his head towards the Slytherin and moved on to the next raised hand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fire_faerie

...
What does he know about tides? Hmm. Tides. Bad for swimming. "They make navigation difficult if you don't calculate them exactly, but become really useful if you do..." yup. That was his answer. He really didn't know very much about tides.

"Very true," he nodded towards the Ravenclaw. "Very tricky indeed to calculate but quite vital in keeping people and the environment safe."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

...
Alrightey! Settle down, Adi! Class was moving on. So, what did he know about tides? Adi raised his hand after slipping on his galoshes. "I think surfers depend on tides to help them surf, Professor duuuude, Sir.'' The whole duuuude thing was said in the 'cool surfer voice'. "I mean Professor Airey, Sir.'' Oh, yeah. The Hufflepuff had a proposition for the man. "Pssst. Professor, I can help you improve your vocals if you like.'' Hehe.

............

Was it just the astronut, or was Mr. Rehman a bit more...cheeky this term? First the slip of the tongue at the feast, now the informal manner in which he had just addressed the professor him...but it was the next bit - the bit he had whispered - that REALLY got the astronomer's blood boiling. Well, boiling was a bit of an exaggeration.

"3 points from Hufflepuff, Mr. Rehman," he said in an equally soft voice. "I suggest you be more mindful with your words."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordred

...
So...tides? He knows...a thing or two? Yeah? Hand up! “The tides go up when the body of water faces the moon, and it goes down when that face of the earth is no longer facing the moon.”
...

"Not JUST the side facing the Moon, Mr. Mordaunt," he winked. They would see all that in just a moment, however.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

...
"Tide means uh... when the level of sea water changes like uh.. You know, in some time it can reach the highest level and then it can reach the lowest level... Like that?" Did his answer make sense? Well, at least he tried to explain.. despite of his limitation in English and the accent.

Sorting...combing...process...

Yes, it seemed he had the general gist of things. The professor nodded his head and smiled at the Gryffindor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky

Oh, he was never speaking ever again! Why did he have to keep getting it wrong? James put his head down on the desk and didn't move after that. His quill sat on the desk and the ink that he'd put on it just before he'd answered was dripping onto the parchment. He missed being at home and having mum to cuddle if he felt like he was going to cry. His bright yellow wellies sat beside him, untouched. He might just possibly... maybe... be trying not to cry at failing.

Uh....oh?

While he did briefly consider the glazed over look in the boy's eyes to mean complete and utter distress - another Perfectopuff, perhaps? - the professor's eyes were mostly fixated on the ink dripping from the boy's quill on to his parchment.

"You're wasting ink," he whispered so only the young man could hear him, pointing to the dark spots on his parchment. Not to mention dirtying up his notes!

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

...
Now onto the question of interest; what did she know about tides? Well she knew about its connection the famous physicist - noone mentioned him yet. Raising her hand, "well Professor, I know that Sir Isaac Newton was the first to explain tides as the result of gravitational pulls to astronomical masses, with use of his theory of universal gravitation."

There. Something different to contribute but all connected, yes?

"He was indeed the first to explain tides scientifically," he beamed. "In 1686!" Another little factoid that everyone ought to have written down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by littledhampir

...
"Well, professor, tidal waves are these huuuuge waves and sometimes they come up on shore and whoosh!" She raised her hands very high above her head and brought them down in time with the sound affect, making a motion to demonstrate the movement of the wave. "Sometimes they can even wash out whole towns and that's sad." You know, because people died.

"Actually, despite its name, tidal waves have nothing to do with the tides but do have everything to do with the movement of the Earth's crust." So...not something they would be discussing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

...
But first...tides. Ok, what DID Caleb know about tides? Not a lot, but...he raised his hand anyways. "Well the tides change depending on the time of day. There's high tide and low tide...high tide is when the waves crash higher up on the beach, and visa versa," he explained. There, that was his extent of knowledge on tides.

"Very good, Mr. Newell," he nodded. "Generally speaking, the Earth rotates through two tidal 'bulges' - the gravitational pull on the oceans - every lunar day. Therefore, coastal areas experience two high and two low tides approximately every 24 hours and 50 minutes with high tides occurring about 12 hours and 25 minutes apart from one another."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samia

Noel sung along, oh yes and then wrote down whatever the professor said next. Well what did he know about tides??? Nothing, except: "you don't really wanna get on the bad side of a tide. you can drown, no matter HOW good of a swimmer you are," Was that morbid? Totally.

He nodded solemnly. "Very true."

...

Moving on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sararara

...
"Sometimes the tide is high and sometimes it'd low, so when the tide is high a bunch of the beach is covered in water and when it's low it...isn't. It's like the moon had these big invisible strings that pull the water over the beach like a blanket sometimes. Maybe it's when the beach is sleeping."

That totally made sense. Right? Right.

That description was almost endearing. Almost. It did bring a smile to the man's face, however. "Interesting imagery," he mused, throwing a wink at the Hufflepuff before moving on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin

...
"Professor I know that waves like at a beach can be really strong and can take you under if the current is strong enough. I am not quite sure what makes the current stronger though.." That was still stumped on. He agreed with Noel that it could make you drown.

"Currents work a bit differently and, unfortunately, we do not have the time to discuss those today. I can, after class, recommend some books for you to look at in the library, however."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meizzner

Dante did not know much about tides. Though he knew about tidal waves. But that is not what Professor Airey was looking for. What he liked to do did not depend on the tides like someone he knew. But whatever.

"Well, it is a brand of laundry detergent."

Technically it was Tide and don't ask how he knows this.

Stare.

Long pause.

Stare some more.

BURST OUT INTO A FIT OF LAUGHTER.

That was essentially what just happened in the span of a full minute.

"Good one, Mr. Barrington. Take a point for make me nearly we---- for making me laugh."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

...
What did she know about tides? Hmm. Lux gave it a moments thought before raising her hand. " I know that surfers rely on tides and ride them. Oh, and there are high tides and low tides. High tides cover cover more shore than low tides."

"They do indeed," he nodded. "Quite the thrilling sport, truth be told."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

...
"In some places, the tides are, like... big. I mean, there's a huuuuuge distance between where the water's edge is at high tide and where it is at low tide. In some towns there are beaches, but at high tide they're completely covered and you would be walking down the steps and straight into the sea, but at low tide the water is waaaaaaaaaay out there. The difference is huge, y'know?" DID he? Maybe not, Toby wasn't the most eloquent when it came to explaining things. "Where I live, there's not a huge difference between high and low tide. Can't be more'n....... I dunno... a thirty foot difference between how much land is covered in water at high tide and how much is covered at low tide." Like, thirty feet in distance rather than depth. Yes. "So yeah. Some are big, and some are small." Nod. Nod nod.

"Stellar, Mr. Toby," he nodded. "That gap between tides you speak of is called the tidal range. Which, for those of you seeking a formal definition, is the difference in sea level between low tide and high tide. While typically this range is about 2 feet, there are some areas where this is much more dramatic. For example, the largest tidal range is on the coast of the Bay of Fundy in Canada. Here, the tides can change by as much as 40 feet from high to low tide."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry174

Angel looked at the Professor before she raised her hand, did he want the long version or the short version, she had learned about this at school. "Professor the tides cause erosion of rocks and other part of the land, you see the tides play a big part in this because you have a high tide and a low tide, when the tide is high it will cause a lot more of the land to be underwater, but when it is low then that will make that part of the land visible again." Angel thought that it would be amazing if she could tell the rest of the story she had but she thought it was only fair to let someone else take over.

Erosion. Of rocks!

Airey instinctively reached for his pet rocks - which were no where to be found at the moment because they were tucked away safely in his office taking their afternoon naps. Ahem. Anyway. Focus...focusing on the words Miss Valentine was saying...

Only he was too distracted by the word...erosion.

"Yes...yes..." he said, his eyes unfocusing for a moment. "Very...er...very good."

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

...
Still, he was gonna answer anyways. "Like Adi said," 'Sup, Adster. "Surfers use the tides to their advantage when they go surfing. And so do people like sailors and the navy in general. Kinda need to know about the moon and how it'll affect the tides before they set out so that they're not setting out on dangerous waters."

More nodding was happening. "Very good, Mr. Whitlock."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessiqua

...
"Tides are the rising and retreating level of the ocean. It creeps up over the sand, then retreats back over it." Yep, that was all she knew. Oh, besides the fact that the moon controlled it, but they had already covered that.

EVEN MORE NODDING.

"Excellent, Miss Burton."

Short and sweet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiro MacMhuirich

Hmm. Marsha had grown up pretty close to the Bristol Channel in Wales and she knew that the tides, like every one said rose and fell. Raising her hand, she added ”Yeah, they affect the fishing industry and also things like the cruise ship holiday industry in the muggle world… oh, and my aunt mentioned something about the oil boats and submarines and things all having to be careful with their docking times.”

Yup.

She sat silently for a little bit longer until someone made a comment that brought up something another relative had mentioned. ”Oh!” She said softly as she raised her hand again. ”But… Sir, isn’t there something like the ocean tides on opposite sides of the earth match with their tides? That would mean it isn’t a case of being close to the moon as they both don’t see the moon at the same time… so is it something to do with the way the moon works with those plates that were mentioned earlier?”

Confusion!

Ah yes, this was related to what he had mentioned to Mr. Mordaunt just a moment ago. Seeing there were still some hands raised, he would wait to go into the details of her question for the time being.

"Hold on to that train of thought, Miss Hanover."

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

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"Tides affect the ocean currents, which affect the climate." Or that was the way she understood it, anyway. She was pretty sure it was right, though she couldn't remember the exact connection there.

Some more nodding. Epic nodding. Nodding nodding nodding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

...
Eden knew almost zero things about tides. So. She just raised her hand kind of timidly. "Um...tides have a schedule..thing...right? Like a high tide, a low tide, and....stuff??" She wasn't sure.

"THAT THEY DO!" he nodded, with some more dramatic pointing.

And he had just shared those details earlier in response to Mr. Toby. So he would not repeat himself again just now. But yes. A schedule.

Quote:

Originally Posted by griffin

...
"Tides affect coastal ecosystems." She probably could have thought of more to say, but right now she was busy wondering why they needed galoshes.

He nodded in response to Miss Wright. Yup yup.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

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Instead, she adjusted her wellies and poked them out in the aisle so Mr. StarMan could see that her wellies had polka dots. Geddit? Dots for Dottie.

The professor simply winked at Miss Wojack as he walked passed, blue eyes looking for the next raised hand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VRSCIKA

So from the forming of the moon, to the function of the moon, to tides. Okay at least they were going in a pattern. What did she know about tides..........Hand up time. "Tides are the fluctuating sea levels that are affected by the gravitational pull of the sun and mostly the moon, as well as the rotation and position of the earth."
....

"An excellent point to remember," he nodded. "While many, generally speaking, think primarily of the Moon as being the sole force acting on the tides, the Sun plays a roll as well AS well as force created by the rotation of the Earth itself. Excellent."

Three point plan. HUZZAH!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

Michael saw no point in adding his answer when it was pretty much the same as everyone else. He did however let out a snort of laughter at the young Slytherin's answer.

Classic!!!

Yeah...the professor may still be laughing as well. Ahem. Snort.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScarletCharm104

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Yawn. "Tides can cause tidepools, which reveal lots of AWESOME underwater creatures that are usually covered by the water b'cause the moon pulls the water back except sometimes the water is stuck in crevices." It was fascinating, y'know?

Aaaaaah tidepools....so many fond memories.

What was the rest of the prefect's answer? He had, ahem, gotten a bit distracted. A smile and nod before moving on would suffice, yes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

Zander was actually trying to participate in this particular lesson. You know, show Professor Flamsteed that his passing OWL grade was well deserved. Except for... Well... All he happened to know about tides was already said. There wasn't anything new or useful he could add to the discussion, so instead he just jotted down some notes as he bobbed his head up and down in agreement.
....

And Mr. Adair got a smile and nod as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpediem

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"Well, don't some tiny little microscopic creatures rely on the tide to move? They can't move on their own, so they just get swept up in the tide and go along their way." Not much to do with the who astronomy thing, but it was something about tides. She was trying. That was important, right? Right.
...

"There are some, yes. An interesting point that truly illustrates just how connected everything is," he nodded. Although not his area of expertise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

He quickly scribbled down the notes about that the Moon controls the tides and that it helped the climate to slowly rotate the earth , creating 24 hours a day. So far he understood it until he wrote down axial tilt. “Quick question Sir, what is axial tilt?” he asked so that he could scribble it down as well. The more notes for his OWLs the better.

"Good question," he nodded. "Without going into too much detail, axial tilt is a term that means the angle, or inclination angle, at which a rotates in relation to its orbital plane." He then held his right arm, bent at the elbow, up. "This, a perfect 90 degrees, is an axil tilt of 0 degrees. The Earth, however, is slanted juuuuuuuust a little," he continued, moving his arm to an estimated 23.4 degrees.

Checking his sundial watch again, and seeing no more hands raised, Airey removed his wand from his enchanted breast pocket on his suit and tapped his temple with it as he spoke.

"Very good all of you," he nodded, glancing up at the two sphere for a moment before looking back at his students. "Many important points were brought up by your classmates, so I hope you were all paying attention and taking careful notes. Now, to summarize things VERY simply, tides are the rise and fall of the levels of the ocean. They are caused by three things, the rotation of the Earth, the gravitational pull of the Sun, and the gravitational pull of the Moon ... HOWEVER ... the Moon has the biggest affect on the tide and why it is the focus of today's lesson."

Get it? Got it. Good.

"Now," he said, pointing his wand towards the sphere representing the Earth. With seamless movements, he cast a silent Aguamenti at it and in a few moments time the sphere was engulfed in a ball of water. "Please keep in mind that this is purely for demonstration purposes, obviously. The water on our planet looks nothing like this from space, all wrapped around the surface like this." JUST to make sure no one started getting the wrong ideas.


source: Science Technology
OOC: this is what your character will be witnessing in the classroom happening with the two spheres.
If you are having trouble viewing the image, please let me know!

"Now, the gravitational force of the Moon pulls the water into something referred to as a tidal bulge one way. On the opposite side, this bulge also occurs due to the rotational force of the Earth," he explained, taking a quick glance towards a certain Gryffindor first year. "Where these bulges occur is where high tides are, whereas the areas set 90 degrees from the bulges are where low tides occur."

He waited a minute or two to allow students to observe and take in this information before moving on.

"These two bulges have specific names as well. The tidal bulge that occurs under the Moon is known as a sublunar tide, while the opposite side of the Earth is known as an antipodal tide."

That was probably enough basic information for now, especially since he could tell by the way some of them were gripping their quills that they needed a bit of a break. Nothing a little abstract lunar fun couldn't fix, right?

"I think we will stop here, unless there are any questions," he said, clapping his hands together to make sure he had everyone's attention. "You may all be wondering why I asked you to bring special footwear today. Truth is, there is a chance you are going to get wet, so I would rather you not have damp feet and possibly catch a cold and then end up in the hospital wing. Of course, there are spells to repel water - which have been placed on the floor of this classroom for today's spell practicing - but utilizing muggle clothing has a bit more...charm to it." Didn't they agree? Surely they did. And if they didn't, well, he didn't really want to hear it.

Giving his wand another wave, he revealed a large box of multicolored water balloons on his desk that had been disillusioned until now.

"We will be going outside shortly to play a bit of a game where each of you will act as a gravitational force on a body of water," he explained. Remember, abstract. He just wanted to make sure that they got it drilled into their heads about the puuuuuuuuuuuuuull of gravity. "To accomplish this, we are going to practice using these water balloons," he explained, picking out a pink one from the box and setting it on the floor. "What you will need to do is perform a charm on yourself. It is rather simple, but requires extreme concentration to perform it right. I don't expect you to get it right on the first go. All you need to do is give yourself firm tap on the head with your wand and say, Aquatraxi Gravita," he continued, demonstrating this precisely. "You'll know you have done it right because..."

He took a few small steps towards the water balloon on the floor. The side facing him began to bugle towards him as though the professor were pulling on an invisible string connecting it to his shoe.

"...as you can see..." he took another step towards it, this time the balloon rolled rapidly across the floor and crashed into his foot - breaking instantly.

Too bad he was NOT wearing his muggle footwear at the moment...and hadn't waterproofed this particular suit.

Grinning and bearing this slight hiccup - and yet another moment of embarrassment for the astronomer in the span of 35 minutes - he gestured towards the box.

"Ahem, yes, well, that will happen...or worse. But if you become skilled with this, you can probably take your little water balloon for a walk or job about the classroom," he said, clearing his throat. Exploding water balloons were likely to be a thing if not careful with the spell. "So go ahead and grab a balloon or two, find a space on the floor, and practice the spell. You will have about 20 minutes or so to perfect your spellwork before we move outside."

OOC: MINI ACTIVITY TIME!

You will have at least 36 hours to complete this mini activity and should have a minimum of 3 posts.

Remember:
> the incantation is Aquatraxi Gravita
> the wand movement is a firm tap on the head

Any questions may be asked of me OOC via VM/PM or IC to Professor Flamsteed.

O__O

He spoke so fast. Rusty had taken in absolutely NOTHING of what had been said, and her notes were so smudged she didn't think she'd be able to read them. Were the older students just used to the professor or something? Cause people were acting like this was normal.

And then... they had to do magic? Rowan had only ever done ONE other spell EVER, and she wasn't convinced that she was going to be any good at this one. But then you never know unless you try. So she collected a water balloon from the front of the classroom and found a place out of the way to sit down.

So... he'd said concentration, so Rusty was gonna try her BEST to concentrate. She held her wand tightly in one hand, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Concentration.

Her quill was flying across her journal, trying to write down all the information. Every single thing Flamsteed was saying. Sublunar tide, antipodal tide, and oooh that was the end of the basic stuff. She let go of her quill and stretched her fingers, then listened to the spell they were learning.

When they were told to begin practising, she quickly grabbed a pretty water balloon and strayed away from the tables to find an empty space. Holding her wand tightly with her right hand, Leah first said the incantation out loud. "Aquatraxi," she paused. That sounded right. "Gravita." like gravity. "Aquatraxi Gravity- Gravita. Aquatraxi Gravita. Aquatraxi Gravita." And repeat and repeat.

Oh, looky! Someone appreciated his surfer answer! Of course it was Grayson, the coolest Slytherin ever! Adi grinned at him and hen stopped grinning abruptly. What, what, WHAT? He lost points because he jokingly suggested that he could help the Professor improve his voice? Someone remind him not to joke around with this guy anymore. But oh well. "Let's seeeeeee. That makes a total of eight points I've ever lost since being here,'' he said to himself. And all eight had been from Professor Suits... and both for joking. "Sorry, Professor,'' he said aloud and meaning it. Didn't he say 'improve'? As in meaning he thought the man ALREADY had a good voice? And he did correct his 'duuuuude'.

Right! Moving on! Gosh, what A LOT of notes! The sixth year's hand went back and forth across his book as he made his notes though he paused to study the demonstration. COOL stuff, yo! As for questions... nope! None here! Also, HE COULDN'T WAIT TO GO OUTSIDE! But first there was stuff to be done.

The Puff hastily jotted down the incantation and wand movement after watching the demonstration. Now it was onto the activity! He stood up, cast a look at Philipe; he would be around if the little dude needed help, and headed over to grab himself two balloons while muttering the incantation. "Aquatraxi Gravita, Aquatraxi Gravita, Aquatraxi Gravita.'' Because balloons were so much fun!

Well, it just wasn't Astronomy class if Flamsteed wasn't over the top about things. The favorite thing to date was the food fight fight granted he wasn't himself that time. Anywho, AJ had just enough time to duck and cover before things began to crash down around her. Good thing her reflexes were on point.

What was that about? Many answers came to mind, but none of them would be what he was looking for. What to say... what to say? "My guess is that you are feeling very hand on today." Lame. So lame. When was he not hands on? This was Airey we are talking about.



The moon was important because... because... Didn't it have something to do with the sun too? AJ knew both of them were super important, but she couldn't get her ideas to come together enough to form a logical explanation.

Something came to mind, and AJ went for it. Her hand was in the air, and she waited her turn. "Isn't it like a tag team thing with the sun? Like, the sun needs some time off and then the moon takes over and gives us a different kind of light?" Made total sense to her.



Oh. It was about to get real and AJ was prepared, she was. Galoshes were beside her and she quickly slipped them on as she thought about what all she knew about tides. Oh. Oh. She had something. The lion's hand shot up into the air.

"They can be unpredictable." That was all. Yeah, she actually had a short answer for once. She knew the activity was coming up any time now, and she knew it was bound to be epic. It was all she could do to keep from bouncing up and down in her seat.

Why did Adi lose points for joking? Airey was the cool professor. Hmm… AJ shrugged her shoulders at her boyfriend. What could you do? It wasn’t like she hadn’t lost any points herself. No big deal.

Activity time. AJ listened to every little detail so she would be ready to go!

Hughbert was waiting eagerly for Flamstead to address his response. He waited through a question about tides and then, eventually, the introduction of their activity. And still....nothing.

Oh. Okay.

Hugh tried not to be disheartened (because that was just a construct too) when Flammy ignored him. That was cool. He was cool. Yo, he wasn't bothered. At all.

Sad!Hugh.

He stood up shoulders' hunched and his long face even longer than usual when he pulled out his wand and muttered to himself. The incantation, not anything else.

"Aquatraxi Gravita.......Aquatraxi Gravita.....Aquatraxi Gravita." With each repeat of the word his shoulders slumped more and more.

Meh. He wanted to melt on the floor and stay there.

The professor just nodded when he answered his question. Didn't know if he was confused about his words or... anything else. Whatever. At least he had tried to answer and still work on his English to make it more.. fluent. Quickly he scribbled down the spell on his notebook. Damn it, it was quite hard to pronounce.

Aqua.... Aquatra... Aquatraxi Gravita...

It would be better if he practiced the incantation first since it was quite difficult to say it with his Korean accent. "Aquat... Aquatra... Aquatraxi... Aquatraxi Gravita." Once again? "Aquatrax... Aqua..traxi.. Nope. Aquatraxi Gravita. Aquatraxi Gravita. Aquatraxi Gravita..." he kept muttering the incantation until he felt he was fluent enough to practice the spell.