What Causes the ‘Rippling’ of a Pond After a Stone Is Thrown In?

When you throw a stone into water, it pushes the water up and down. This makes waves that spread out from where the stone landed, like ripples on a pond.

The stone lands in the water and moves the water around it, making the first wave. Then, because water is connected, the movement starts to spread further out from the center.

Each part of the water moves up and down as waves pass through it, just like when you shake a rope and it makes waves too.