A property of a wave described as the distance between a point on one wave and the same point on the next wave is called what?

• A. Frequency
• B. Wavelength
• C. Amplitude
• D. Period

Answer: (B)

The distance between a point on one wave and the same point on the next wave is the wavelength, the spatial period of the wave. It tells you how far the wave travels in one complete cycle and is measured in meters. You can see it as crest-to-crest, trough-to-trough, or any equivalent point-to-equivalent point on successive cycles. Wavelength is connected to speed and frequency through v = fλ: for a given wave speed, increasing the frequency increases the wavelength proportionally. In contrast, frequency is how often the pattern repeats per second, period is the time for one full cycle, and amplitude is the height of the wave—these last ones describe different properties.