DEFINITION of 'Actuarial Science '. A discipline that assesses financial risks in the insurance and finance fields using mathematical and statistical methods. Actuarial science applies the mathematics of probability and statistics to define, analyze and solve the financial implications of uncertain future events. Traditional actuarial science largely revolves around the analysis of mortality and the production of life tables, and the application of compound interest. Next Up.
The result is a smaller difference between high and low tides and is known as a neap tide. Neap tides are especially weak tides. They occur when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another (with respect to the Earth). Neap tides occur during quarter moons.
Lesson Summary. Tides are the periodic rise and fall of ocean waters. The gravitational pull of the moon and sun creates the tides. When the gravitational pull is at its highest point, the result is high tide, which is the highest level of the tide. When the pull is at its lowest point, we see low tide, or the lowest level of the tide.