Sound waves are classified as longitudinal waves. Longitudinal waves are waves in which the particles of the medium vibrate in a direction parallel or antiparallel to the direction of the wave. When sound waves travel through a medium, they include compressions and rarefactions, and all the particles of the medium vibrate in the same direction as the wave. This type of wave is characterized by compressions and rarefactions, and it is sometimes referred to as a pressure wave due to the alternating high-pressure and low-pressure regions it creates in the medium. Sound waves are also considered mechanical waves, as they require a medium to travel through and propagate by displacing particles in a chain reaction. Therefore, sound waves are primarily longitudinal waves, but they also exhibit characteristics of mechanical and pressure waves.