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| Characteristics of Wave Motion |
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 Wave motion is the propagation of a disturbance produced in a medium by the repeated periodic motion of the particles of the medium. |
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 It is only the energy of the disturbance that moves forward without any mass transfer. |
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 In an elastic medium, the frequency and the amplitude of oscillation of each particle is the same. However, each particle starts vibrating a little later than its predecessor and thus, there is a regular phase difference between the successive particles of the medium. |
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 The wave velocity is different from the particle velocity. While the wave travels with a uniform velocity, the velocity of the particle is different at different positions. It is maximum at the mean position and zero at the extreme positions of oscillation. |
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 Waves may undergo reflection, refraction, interference, dispersion and diffraction. |
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 The energy of a wave is partly kinetic and partly potential and the total energy remains constant. |
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