Question

State the general name of the waves in which the particles of the medium vibrate:
a) In the same direction as wave
b) At right angles to the direction of wave

Answer 1

Longitudinal waves are fluctuations in which the medium's particles vibrate in the equivalent direction of the wave. Transverse waves are the ripples in which particles of the medium fluctuate at right angles to wave direction.

Complete step-by-step solution:
a) Longitudinal waves are ripples in which the oscillation of the medium is parallel to the way the wave travels; the medium's displacement is in the same (or opposite) direction of the wave generation. Mechanical longitudinal waves are also described as compressional or compression waves. They provide compression and rarefaction when going through medium and pressure fluctuations because they increase and decrease. Sound moves through longitudinal waves.
Longitudinal waves involve sound waves and seismic P-waves (generated by earthquakes and pops). In longitudinal waves, the medium's displacement is parallel to the wave's propagation.
b) Transverse waves generally occur in elastic solids due to the shear force produced; the oscillations are the displacement of the dense particles away from their relaxed state in directions perpendicular to the wave propagation. These displacements resemble the local shear deformation of the body. Therefore, a transverse wave of this nature is described as a shear wave. Since fluids cannot oppose shear forces while at rest, transverse wave propagation inside fluid volume is impossible. In seismology, shear waves are also termed secondary waves or S-waves.
Light is another instance of a transverse wave, where the oscillations are the electric fields and magnetic fields, which aim at right angles to the light rays that represent the propagation direction. Sound moves through transversal waves at the right angle.

Note: A wave along with the height of a stretched Slinky toy, where the distance among coils rises and drops, is a helpful visualization and compares the standing wave with an oscillating guitar rope transverse. Transverse waves are compared with longitudinal waves, where the vibrations occur in the wave direction.