What is a mechanical wave?

What is a mechanical wave?

• A. Moves energy through a medium
• B. Travels through a vacuum
• C. Constitutes particles only
• D. Is an electromagnetic wave

Answer: (A)

Mechanical waves transfer energy through a medium by disturbing its particles. The energy moves as the particles push and pull on neighbors, so the wave propagates through the material without the whole substance moving together in bulk. This requires a medium, which is why sound can travel through air or water but not through a vacuum. The correct statement captures this idea: energy is moved through a medium by the wave. The other options describe different ideas—traveling in vacuum (like light), being just particles, or being an electromagnetic wave—which don’t describe mechanical waves.

Mechanical waves transfer energy through a medium by disturbing its particles. The energy moves as the particles push and pull on neighbors, so the wave propagates through the material without the whole substance moving together in bulk. This requires a medium, which is why sound can travel through air or water but not through a vacuum. The correct statement captures this idea: energy is moved through a medium by the wave. The other options describe different ideas—traveling in vacuum (like light), being just particles, or being an electromagnetic wave—which don’t describe mechanical waves.