What describes the energy moving across the ocean surface?

• A. Currents
• B. Waves
• C. Tides
• D. Swells

Answer: (B)

Waves describe the energy moving across the ocean surface. A wave is a disturbance that travels through water, carrying energy from the source toward shore or other areas. The water itself mostly moves in small circular motions, while the wave pattern progresses, so the energy travels without requiring the entire water mass to move along with it. This distinction makes waves the best description of how energy moves across the surface.

Currents describe the bulk horizontal flow of water itself, not the traveling energy pattern. Tides refer to the regular rise and fall of sea level caused by the Moon and Sun’s gravity, which is about vertical water movement rather than energy traveling as a surface wave. Swells are a type of well-formed waves that have traveled away from their generating storms, but the general concept of energy moving across the surface is captured most directly by waves.