Sound waves are longitudinal waves and consists of compression and rarefaction.
Because of the air particles’ longitudinal motion, there are regions in the air where the air particles are compressed together and other regions where the air particles are spread apart. These regions are known as compressions and rarefactions, respectively.
Characteristics of sound waves
- The minimum distance in which a sound wave repeats itself is called its wavelength.
- The maximum displacement of the medium particles from their original undisturbed positions when a wave passes through the medium is called the amplitude of the wave.
- The time required to produce one complete wave or cycle is called the time period of the wave.
