Here's why:
* Longitudinal Waves: The particles in the medium oscillate back and forth in the same direction as the wave travels. Think of a slinky being pushed and pulled. The coils move back and forth, compressing and expanding, but the overall disturbance travels along the slinky.
* Transverse Waves: In contrast, transverse waves have particle motion perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. Imagine shaking a rope up and down. The rope moves up and down, but the wave travels horizontally.
Examples of Longitudinal Waves:
* Sound waves
* Seismic P-waves
Examples of Transverse Waves:
* Light waves
* Seismic S-waves
* Waves on a string
