Question

how do wavefronts relate to the direction of travel of the wave?

Answer 1

Dear mates here is your answer

➡️A surface containing points affected in the same way by a wave at a given time.

➡️If the displacement of the individual atoms or molecules is perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling, the wave is called a transverse wave. If the displacement is parallel to the direction of travel the wave is called a longitudinal wave or a compression wave.

Answer 2

Waves are generally divided up into two types of wave - longitudinal and transverse. Longitudinal waves are waves where the displacement of the particles is parallel to thedirection of travel of the wave (the vibrations are along the direction of the travel of the wave).

It is a locus of points. The wave is the whole phenomenon of a propagating oscillation. In theory the wave extends through all space in three dimensions. A wavefront is only a surface through the wave (typically a surface that is perpendicular to the direction the energy is travelling).