Question

Following a lecture on transverse and longitudinal waves, four students make Venn diagrams to characterize these waves.

Which Venn diagram is correct?

A Venn diagram with two intersecting circles. The circle on the left is labeled transverse waves with entries light, can travel through a vacuum, vibrating string, created by a disturbance and medium motion is perpendicular. The circle on the right is labeled longitudinal waves with entries medium motion is parallel, has regions of high and low density, sound and travel faster in a denser medium. The overlapping region has entries has speed and travels through solids.
A Venn diagram with two intersecting circles. The circle on the left is labeled transverse waves with entries light, can travel through a vacuum, vibrating string and medium motion is perpendicular. The circle on the right is labeled longitudinal waves with entries medium motion is parallel, has regions of high and low density, sound and travel faster in a denser medium. The overlapping region has entries, created by a disturbance, has speed and travels through solids.
A Venn diagram with two intersecting circles. The circle on the left is labeled transverse waves with entries light, all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, vibrating string, medium motion is perpendicular. The circle on the right is labeled longitudinal waves with entries medium motion is parallel, has regions of high and low density, sound and can travel through a vacuum. The overlapping region has entries, created by a disturbance, has speed and travels through solids.
A Venn diagram with two intersecting circles. The circle on the left is labeled transverse waves with entries light, can travel through a vacuum, vibrating string and medium motion is perpendicular. The circle on the right is labeled longitudinal waves with entries medium motion is parallel, has regions of high and low density, all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum and travel faster in a denser medium. The overlapping region has entries, created by a disturbance, has speed and travels through solids.

Answer 1

B.

Reason: Transverse waves (left) include light and vibrating-string waves and have particle motion perpendicular to propagation; only transverse electromagnetic waves can travel through a vacuum. Longitudinal waves (right) have particle motion parallel to propagation and show regions of compression and rarefaction (sound). The items placed in the overlap — "created by a disturbance," "has speed," and "travels through solids" — correctly apply to both types. The other diagrams place false or miscategorized statements (for example, sound in a vacuum or the EM spectrum as longitudinal).