Question

a) Explain the terms crests and troughs of a wave. What type of waves consist of crests and troughs?

Answer 1

Hint: There are two types of mechanical waves, they are longitudinal waves and the transverse waves. Transverse waves are the waves that have direction of propagation perpendicular to the direction of motion. Mechanical waves are the waves that have direction of propagation parallel to the direction of motion.

Complete step-by-step solution:
The crest and trough are the parts of a transverse wave. The wavelength of the wave is a combination of the crest and trough. The positive position where the particle of the wave has maximum displacement. The negative position where the particle of the wave has minimum displacement. The diagram representation of the same is given as follows.

\[\therefore \] The positive position where the particle of the wave has maximum displacement. The negative position where the particle of the wave has minimum displacement.

Note: The main types of waves are mechanical waves and non mechanical waves. Mechanical waves are the waves that need the medium for the propagation, whereas, the non mechanical waves are the waves that do not need a medium for propagation. Mechanical waves cannot travel through vacuum, whereas, the non mechanical waves can travel through the vacuum.