GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -P waves can move through solid rock and fluids, like water or the liquid layers of the Earth. It squishes and stretches the rock it moves through just like sound waves compress and expand the air as they move through it. Have you ever heard a big clap of thunder and heard the windows rattle at the same time?

Detailed explanation-2: -The answer is compressional waves. Remind them that in compressional waves particles of material move back and forth parallel to the direction in which the wave itself moves. As a compressional wave passes, the material first compresses and then expands.

Detailed explanation-3: -P waves, like sound waves, are compressional waves, which means that they compress and expand matter as they move through it. S waves, or secondary waves, are the waves directly following the P waves. As they move, S waves shear, or cut the rock they travel through sideways at right angles to the direction of motion.

Detailed explanation-4: -A P wave is a sound wave traveling through rock. In a P wave, the rock particles are alternately squished together and pulled apart (called compressions and dilatations), so P waves are also called compressional waves. These waves can travel through solids, liquids, and gases.

Detailed explanation-5: -P waves cause the ground to compress and expand, that is, to move back and forth, in the direction of travel. They are called primary waves because they are the first type of wave to arrive at seismic recording stations. P waves can travel through solids, liquids, and even gases.