What is the name of matter that mechanical wave energy can only travel through?
weight
form
solid
medium
The energy of a mechanical wave can travel only through matter. This matter is called the medium ( plural , media). The medium in Figure above is a liquid — the water in the pond. But the medium of a mechanical wave can be any state of matter, including a solid or a gas. It’s important to note that particles of matter in the medium don’t actually travel along with the wave. Only the energy travels. The particles of the medium just vibrate, or move back-and-forth or up-and-down in one spot, always returning to their original positions. As the particles vibrate, they pass the energy of the disturbance to the particles next to them, which pass the energy to the particles next to them, and so on.