A less pronounced high tide occurs when the Moon is at which position?

• A. Perigee (closest point to Earth)
• B. Apogee (farthest point from Earth)
• C. New Moon
• D. Quadrature

Answer: (B)

Tides are mainly driven by the Moon’s gravity, and how strong that pull is depends a lot on distance. When the Moon is at apogee, it’s farthest from Earth, so its gravitational influence on Earth’s oceans is weaker. That makes the high tides smaller, so the high tide is less pronounced. If the Moon were closer, at perigee, the tides would be stronger and the high tide more pronounced. The other options relate to where the Moon is in the sky relative to the Sun, which affects tidal range in different ways (for example, during certain alignments tides can be larger or smaller), but the direct reason a high tide is less pronounced is the Moon’s distance at apogee.