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What are types of mechanical waves?

There are three types of mechanical waves. They are longitudinal waves, transverse waves, and surface waves. I will discuss the properties of each type of wave.


Longitudinal waves are waves in which the particles move in a direction parallel to the direction the wave moves. An example is a slinky stretched out horizontally on the ground. You send a pulse without lifting the slinky. As energy is being displaced from left to right, the individual...

There are three types of mechanical waves. They are longitudinal waves, transverse waves, and surface waves. I will discuss the properties of each type of wave.


Longitudinal waves are waves in which the particles move in a direction parallel to the direction the wave moves. An example is a slinky stretched out horizontally on the ground. You send a pulse without lifting the slinky. As energy is being displaced from left to right, the individual coils will be displaced left to right. Sound waves are another example of a longitudinal wave.


Transverse waves are waves in which the particles move in a direction perpendicular to the direction the wave moves. An example is if you have a slinky stretch out horizontally and lift it up and down quickly. The direction of energy is going to go forward but the slinky is going to create a wave that goes up and down. Another example is the vibration of a string.


A surface wave is a wave in which particles of a medium undergo a circular motion. An example of a surface wave is waves in an ocean that travel along the surface.

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