What type of wave is a disturbance that we can hear and moves through a medium away from the source?

A sound wave is characterized as a disturbance that travels through a medium, such as air, liquids, or solids, and is capable of being perceived by the human ear. Sound waves are mechanical waves, meaning they require a medium to propagate, as opposed to electromagnetic waves like light waves, which can travel through a vacuum. In sound waves, vibrations of particles in the medium cause compressions and rarefactions, allowing the wave to carry energy and information from the source to the listener.

This ability to move through a medium while transporting auditory information is what distinctly identifies sound waves from the other types of waves listed. Light waves, for instance, do not require a medium and can propagate through a vacuum, which is not the case for sound. Water waves primarily involve the motion of water molecules and are typically not classified as sound waves since they do not carry sound information in the same manner. Lastly, seismic waves, while they can be heard in some contexts, are primarily associated with the energy released during earthquakes and are not classified as typical sound waves in a general auditory sense. The defining characteristic of sound waves is their ability to be heard as they move through a medium away from their source.