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.
1. (Physical Geography) the cyclic rise and fall of sea level caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. There are usually two high tides and two low tides in each lunar day. See also tide-generating force, neap tide, spring tide. 2. (Physical Geography) the current, ebb, or flow of water at a specified place resulting from these changes in level: the tide is coming in.