Question

What term describes a wave in which particles of the medium vibrate at right angles, or perpendicular, to the direction that the wave travels?

Answer 1

transverse wave

A transverse wave is a wave in which particles of the medium vibrate at right angles, or perpendicular, to the direction that the wave travels. Another example of a transverse wave is the wave that passes through a rope with you shake one end of the rope up and down, as in the Figure below . The direction of the wave is down the length of the rope away from the hand. The rope itself moves up and down as the wave passes through it. You can watch a video of a transverse wave in a rope at this URL: http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=TZIr9mpERbU .