Mechanical Waves

What is a Longitudinal Wave

A longitudinal wave is a type of mechanical wave. A mechanical wave is a wave that travels through matter, called the medium. In a longitudinal wave, particles of the medium vibrate in a direction that is parallel to the direction that the wave travels.

What is a Mechanical Wave?

A mechanical wave is a disturbance in matter that transfers energy through the matter. A mechanical wave starts when matter is disturbed. A source of energy is needed to disturb matter and start a mechanical wave.

How does the medium move?

A surface wave is a combination of a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave. A transverse wave is a wave in which particles of the medium move up and down perpendicular to the direction of the wave. A longitudinal wave is a wave in which particles of the medium move parallel to the direction of the wave. In a surface wave, particles of the medium move up and down as well as back and forth. This gives them an overall circular motion.

What is a Surface Wave

A surface wave is a wave that travels along the surface of a medium. The medium is the matter through which the wave travels. Ocean waves are the best-known examples of surface waves. They travel on the surface of the water between the ocean and the air.

What is a Transverse Wave

A transverse wave is a wave in which particles of the medium vibrate at right angles, or perpendicular, to the direction that the wave travels. Another example of a transverse wave is the wave that passes through a rope with you shake one end of the rope up and down.

What are the 4 types of waves?

Mechanical, Transverse, Longitudinal, Surface

Compression

Places where particles of a medium crowd closer together

Rarefaction

Places where the particles spread farther apart

What is the medium?

The energy of a mechanical wave can travel only through matter. The matter through which the wave travels is called the

Medium

The energy of a mechanical wave can travel only through matter. The matter through which the wave travels is called the medium. The medium of a mechanical wave can be any state of matter, even a solid.

Crest

The high points

Trough

The low points