A mechanical wave starts when matter is disturbed by a source of .

MATERIAL MEDIUM

Explanation:

Wave is a disturbance that travels through a medium and transfer energy from one point to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself. The two forms of wave are the mechanical wave and the electromagnetic waves.

Mechanical wave is a wave with requires MATERIAL MEDIUM for its propagation. This means that before wave can be propagated at times, material medium is needed e.g a ripple tank. A ripple tank is a mechanical device that generates waves using an instrument called stroboscope attached to it. This kind of wave requires an external source before it can propagate compared to electromagnetic waves that does not require material medium for its propagation.