A slowly moving engine bumps into a string of railroad cars standing on siding. A wave pulse is transmitted down the string of cars as each one bumps into the next one. What kind of wave is this?
Transverse or Longitudinal?
Wouldn't it be longitudinal
yes
the cars move in the direction of the wave
Yes, the wave transmitted down the string of cars in this scenario would be longitudinal. Longitudinal waves are characterized by the particles of the medium moving back and forth in the same direction as the wave itself. In this case, the engine bumping into the first car causes the disturbance to propagate through the cars in a direction parallel to the string, which aligns with the movement of each subsequent car.
Yes, the wave transmitted down the string of cars would be a type of longitudinal wave.
To understand why, let's first review the differences between transverse and longitudinal waves. In a transverse wave, the oscillations of the particles (or medium) are perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation, creating crests and troughs. In a longitudinal wave, the oscillations of the particles occur parallel to the direction of wave propagation, resulting in compressions and rarefactions.
In the scenario described, as each railroad car bumps into the next one, it causes a compression, pushing the adjacent car forward and compressing the particles within it. This compression then travels down the string of cars as a waveform, with each car pushing against the one in front of it. Therefore, the wave transmitted is a longitudinal wave, since the particles move back and forth along the same direction as the wave propagation.
So, in summary, when a slowly moving engine bumps into a string of railroad cars, causing a wave pulse to transmit down the string, the wave produced is a longitudinal wave.