Final answer:
A transverse wave on a slinky spring results in the coils moving perpendicular to the wave's direction, while a longitudinal wave results in coils moving parallel to the wave's direction of movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
What happens to a slinky spring with different types of waves?
When a transverse wave moves down a slinky spring, the coils of the spring move perpendicular to the direction of the wave's propagation. This means that if the wave is traveling horizontally, the coils move up and down or side to side. This creates a wave pattern that looks like a sine wave, moving along the length of the spring.
Longitudinal waves, on the other hand, cause the coils of the slinky to compress and expand along the direction of the wave's travel. That is, if the wave moves horizontally, the spring's coils move back and forth in the same horizontal plane. You can create such a wave by holding one end of the slinky and flicking the other end back and forth in the direction of the slinky's length.