Question

What occurs when the crests of one wave overlap the troughs, or lowest points, of another wave?

Answer 1

destructive interference

Destructive interference occurs when the crests of one wave overlap the troughs, or lowest points, of another wave. The Figure below shows what happens. As the waves pass through each other, the crests and troughs cancel each other out to produce a wave with zero amplitude. You can see an animation of destructive interference at this URL: http://phys23p. sl. psu. edu/phys_anim/waves/embederQ1.20200. html.