During a visit to the beach, you get in a small rubber raft and paddle out beyond the surf zone. Tiring, you stop and take a rest. Describe the movement of your raft beyond the surf zone. a) The raft's net movement is not toward the shore compared to the surf zone. b) The raft moves in a circle, and it returns to essentially the same place. c) The raft moves up and down vigorously due to the breaking of taller waves compared to the surf zone. d) The raft will move toward shore along with the water particles underneath.

In this question, 2 options apply.

Option A is correct, the raft will not move toward the shore compared to the surf zone, which leads us to the conclusion that option B is also true, the raft moves in a circle, it will always return to the same place.

The surf zone is where the waves break, and it also implies the existence of a rip current. A rip current is a narrow current that moves directly away from the shore. It is formed because the wind and the waves push the surface water toward the land, this water tends to go back to the sea, in a rip current.

The raft in our example may be caught in a loop between being dragged away from the surf zone for the rip current, and being pushed back to the shore for the breaking waves, thus, essentially staying in the same place.