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Marcus plucks at an outstretched coil and observes the following wave motion. What is the motion of the particles in this kind of wave?

A hand holds the left end of a set of waves. The wave has longer and shorter spaces between successive waves as it spreads to the right. A label Wave motion is above the series of waves and an arrow next to the label points right.

The particles will move up and down over large areas.
The particles will move up and down over small areas.
The particles will move side to side over small areas.
The particles will move side to side over large areas.

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Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The particles move side to side over small areas.

Explanation: The changing spacing of the coils shows compressions and rarefactions, i.e. a longitudinal wave. In a longitudinal wave each particle oscillates back and forth parallel to the wave direction over a small distance about its equilibrium.