Question

A photo shows the recording of seismic waves. Three vertical waves from left to right have irregular wave patterns with changing wavelength and amplitude. All three recordings are the same length horizontally but each one varies greatly vertically on the graph.
Which wave measure is changing by the greatest amount in the image?

(1 point)
Responses

speed
speed

amplitude
amplitude

frequency
frequency

wavelength

Answer 1

Based on your description of the seismic waves, if the waves have irregular patterns with changing amplitude and wavelength but are the same length horizontally, it suggests that the wave behavior is varying vertically in terms of either amplitude or wavelength.

Since the three wave recordings vary greatly vertically, the measure that is changing by the greatest amount is most likely the **amplitude**. Amplitude represents the height of the wave, which is a vertical measurement, and if there are significant variations in height among the waves, then the amplitude is changing greatly.

Thus, the best answer is **amplitude**.