Waves

In class this week we have been talking about waves. A wave is a disturbance that travels through a medium from one location to another location. Mediums are the materials that carry the wave (ex. air, water, metal, stuff). There are two types of waves: transverse and longitudinal. Transverse waves are defined as a wave vibrating at right angles to the direction of its propagation. This means that the particles go up and down in place, and the wave energy goes side to side. Longitudinal waves are described as a wave vibrating in the direction of propagation. This means that the particles go side to side, and the energy goes parallel.

The picture above is of me bodysurfing a wave at Sandy’s. Ocean waves are Transverse waves. This is because when waves are moving, it isn’t the individual water particles moving across the ocean, it is energy moving through water (the medium). If you actually could see the individual water particles of an ocean wave, you would see that they move in small circles, but more or less, the water particles stay in place.