A wave is a disturbance that carries energy from place to place.

• A. Gene regulation
• B. Wave
• C. Genotype
• D. Chromosome

Answer: (B)

A wave is a disturbance that carries energy from one place to another. This means the energy moves through a medium or through space, while the actual particles of the medium often just vibrate or move locally rather than traveling with the wave themselves. For example, in water waves the surface moves up and down, but the water as a whole doesn’t travel indefinitely with the wave—the energy travels outward. In sound waves, air particles wiggle back and forth as the sound energy moves through the air. Light and other electromagnetic waves carry energy through space without needing a material medium. The other terms describe biological concepts—gene regulation, genotype, and chromosome—not a description of how energy moves—so they don’t fit the idea of a wave.