A wave is a disturbance that travels through a medium, transferring energy from one point to another without permanently displacing the medium itself.
Waves are caused by an initial disturbance or vibration in a medium, such as a disturbance in the water that creates ocean waves or a vibration in the air that creates sound waves.
Waves have several key properties, including amplitude (the height of the wave), wavelength (the distance between two consecutive points with the same phase), frequency (the number of waves passing a point per second), and speed (how fast the wave is traveling).
Transverse waves vibrate perpendicular to the direction of propagation, while longitudinal waves vibrate parallel to the direction of propagation. Examples of transverse waves include water waves and electromagnetic waves, while examples of longitudinal waves include sound waves.
Waves can interact with each other in several ways, including constructive interference (when two waves combine to form a larger wave) and destructive interference (when two waves cancel each other out). Waves can also reflect, refract, and diffract when they encounter different mediums or obstacles.