{"id":85378,"date":"2025-06-01T03:14:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T03:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?p=85378"},"modified":"2025-06-01T03:14:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T03:14:58","slug":"sound-and-light-waves-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/sound-and-light-waves-are\/","title":{"rendered":"Sound and light waves are"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sound and light waves are<\/p>\n

[amp_mcq option1=”respectively longitudinal and transverse in air” option2=”respectively transverse and longitudinal in air” option3=”both longitudinal in air” option4=”both transverse in air” correct=”option1″]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
This question was previously asked in<\/div>\n
UPSC CDS-1 – 2023<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Download PDF<\/a>Attempt Online<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nSound waves are mechanical waves that require a medium (like air, water, or solids) to propagate. In air, sound waves are longitudinal waves, meaning the particles of the medium vibrate back and forth parallel to the direction in which the wave travels, creating regions of compression and rarefaction.
\nLight waves are electromagnetic waves and do not require a medium to propagate (they can travel through a vacuum). Light waves are transverse waves, meaning the oscillations of the electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels.
\nTherefore, sound waves are longitudinal in air, and light waves are transverse in air (and other media, or vacuum).
\n<\/section>\n
\n– Sound waves are longitudinal in gases and liquids.
\n– Light waves are always transverse.
\n<\/section>\n
\nWhile sound waves are longitudinal in air and fluids, they can be both longitudinal and transverse in solids. Other examples of transverse waves include waves on a string and some seismic waves (S-waves). Examples of longitudinal waves include P-waves (a type of seismic wave) and waves in a spring compressed and stretched along its length.
\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sound and light waves are [amp_mcq option1=”respectively longitudinal and transverse in air” option2=”respectively transverse and longitudinal in air” option3=”both longitudinal in air” option4=”both transverse in air” correct=”option1″] This question was previously asked in UPSC CDS-1 – 2023 Download PDFAttempt Online Sound waves are mechanical waves that require a medium (like air, water, or solids) to … <\/p>\n

Detailed SolutionSound and light waves are<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1087],"tags":[1105,1128,1274],"class_list":["post-85378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-upsc-cds-1","tag-1105","tag-physics","tag-wave-motion","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"\nSound and light waves are<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sound waves are mechanical waves that require a medium (like air, water, or solids) to propagate. In air, sound waves are longitudinal waves, meaning the particles of the medium vibrate back and forth parallel to the direction in which the wave travels, creating regions of compression and rarefaction. Light waves are electromagnetic waves and do not require a medium to propagate (they can travel through a vacuum). Light waves are transverse waves, meaning the oscillations of the electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels. Therefore, sound waves are longitudinal in air, and light waves are transverse in air (and other media, or vacuum). - Sound waves are longitudinal in gases and liquids. - Light waves are always transverse.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/sound-and-light-waves-are\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sound and light waves are\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sound waves are mechanical waves that require a medium (like air, water, or solids) to propagate. In air, sound waves are longitudinal waves, meaning the particles of the medium vibrate back and forth parallel to the direction in which the wave travels, creating regions of compression and rarefaction. Light waves are electromagnetic waves and do not require a medium to propagate (they can travel through a vacuum). Light waves are transverse waves, meaning the oscillations of the electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels. Therefore, sound waves are longitudinal in air, and light waves are transverse in air (and other media, or vacuum). - Sound waves are longitudinal in gases and liquids. - Light waves are always transverse.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/sound-and-light-waves-are\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MCQ and Quiz for Exams\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-01T03:14:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sound and light waves are","description":"Sound waves are mechanical waves that require a medium (like air, water, or solids) to propagate. 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Therefore, sound waves are longitudinal in air, and light waves are transverse in air (and other media, or vacuum). - Sound waves are longitudinal in gases and liquids. - Light waves are always transverse.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/sound-and-light-waves-are\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sound and light waves are","og_description":"Sound waves are mechanical waves that require a medium (like air, water, or solids) to propagate. In air, sound waves are longitudinal waves, meaning the particles of the medium vibrate back and forth parallel to the direction in which the wave travels, creating regions of compression and rarefaction. Light waves are electromagnetic waves and do not require a medium to propagate (they can travel through a vacuum). 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