Question

When a longitudinal wave propagates through a medium, the particles of the medium execute simple harmonic oscillations about their mean positions. which of the following quantity remains invariant in these oscillations of the particle ?

• A. Kinetic energy
• B. Potential energy
• C. Sum of kinetic energy and potential energy
• D. Difference between kinetic energy and potential energy

Answer 1

The correct option is C Sum of kinetic energy and potential energy

When a wave propagates through a medium, the total energy of transmission remains constant.
Hence sum of potential energy and kinetic energy during the propagation of a wave remains fixed.
$\Rightarrow$The maximum displacement of particle and maximum velocity of particle is dependent only on the total energy of a wave.