Eli moves his hand back and forth, creating a longitudinal wave in the spring toy. This wave has a certain amplitude, which is related to how much the spring coils are compressed and rarefied.

Eli moves his hand back and forth, creating a longitudinal wave in the spring toy. This wave has a certain amplitude, which is related to how much the spring coils are compressed and rarefied.

Eli moves his hand back and forth a greater distance. This action directly increases the amplitude of the oscillation he imparts to the spring. The text states that this creates a wave with more energy.

The energy carried by a wave is proportional to the square of its amplitude. Therefore, moving the hand a greater distance increases the amplitude of the wave, which in turn increases the wave's energy. Visually, the compressions in the second wave are denser and the rarefactions are more stretched out, indicating a larger amplitude.

Comparing the two waves:
The second wave (created by moving the hand a greater distance) has a greater amplitude than the first wave.

$\boxed{\text{The wave created by moving the hand a greater distance has a greater amplitude.}}$