# A student plucks a guitar string and produces a sound wave. The sound wave is described as a longitudinal wave. Explain what is meant by a longitudinal wave and describe two other features of waves that apply to both longitudinal and transverse waves.

> Eduqas GCSE Physics — 1.5 Features of waves · Explain · 4 marks

> When a guitar string is plucked, it vibrates and produces a sound wave that travels through the air to a listener's ears.

## Mark scheme (4 marks)

1. In a longitudinal wave the vibrations (oscillations) are parallel to the direction of wave travel / energy transfer
2. Waves transfer energy from one place to another without transferring matter / the medium does not travel with the wave
3. Amplitude is the maximum displacement of a point on the wave from its rest / equilibrium position
4. Wavelength is the distance between two successive points that are in phase (e.g. crest to crest or compression to compression) OR frequency is the number of complete waves passing a point per second

## Key terms

- [longitudinal wave](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/glossary/longitudinal-wave)

## Related

- [Revision notes for Eduqas GCSE Physics](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/learn)
- [How to answer "Explain" questions](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/tools/command-word-cheatsheet)
- [Practice this with AI marking (free)](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/start)

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Source: [GradeNine](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/q/a-student-plucks-a-guitar-string-7b72a63b) · Published by Druglandscape Ltd.