Which term refers to a disturbance caused by the movement of energy through a medium?

• A. Wave
• B. Tsunami
• C. Wave Crest
• D. Wave Diffraction

Answer: (C)

A wave is the disturbance that moves energy through a medium. When a wave travels, the medium’s particles oscillate as the energy is transmitted, but the energy moves while the material itself doesn’t travel with it. The crest is just the highest point of the wave, not the disturbance itself. A tsunami is a specific example of a long-wavelength wave, so it’s a type of wave rather than the general term. Diffraction describes how waves bend and spread around obstacles, which is a behavior of waves after they form, not the disturbance that carries energy. So the concept described by the phrase is a wave.