Question

Select all of the terms that could be used to describe the wave that is produced when a person speaks.

1) transverse
2) mechanical
3) compression
4) longitudinal
5) electromagnetic

Answer 1

The wave that is produced when a person speaks can be described using the terms:
2) mechanical
3) compression
4) longitudinal

When a person speaks, sound is produced by the movement of air molecules. This movement creates a mechanical wave, which means that it requires a medium (in this case, air) to travel through. The wave produced by speaking is a compression wave, also known as a longitudinal wave. This means that the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction of the wave.

In the case of speaking, the vocal cords in the larynx vibrate, causing the surrounding air molecules to compress and expand. These compressions and expansions travel through the air as a wave, reaching our ears and allowing us to hear the sound.

So, to summarize, the wave produced when a person speaks is a mechanical wave that is characterized by compressions and expansions of air molecules, making it a compression wave or a longitudinal wave.

Answer 2

The wave produced when a person speaks is a mechanical, compression, and longitudinal wave, involving parallel particle motion to the wave's direction. Transverse and electromagnetic waves do not describe this type of sound wave.

Step-by-step explanation:

The terms that could be used to describe the wave that is produced when a person speaks are mechanical, compression, and longitudinal. When a person speaks, the vocal cords create vibrations in the air. These vibrations, or sound waves, are longitudinal waves, because the particles of the medium through which the sound is traveling move in a direction parallel to the wave's propagation. This is often also referred to as compression waves because the waves consist of compressions and rarefactions in the pressure of the air. The other terms, transverse and electromagnetic, do not apply to sound waves produced by speech. Transverse waves, like those on the strings of musical instruments or electromagnetic waves such as visible light, involve disturbances perpendicular to the wave's propagation.