What is the distance between successive crests or compressions in a wave called?

What is the distance between successive crests or compressions in a wave called?

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

Answer: (C)

The distance between consecutive crests or compressions is called the wavelength. This is the spatial length of one complete wave cycle, the gap from one repeating pattern to the next. Wavelength tells you how far the wave travels before the pattern repeats, and it’s what you measure in meters (often symbolized by lambda). Amplitude is how tall the wave is from rest to a crest (or to a trough). Frequency is how many cycles pass a point each second, describing speed in time, not space. A trough is simply the lowest point of the wave, not a measure of distance between repeats. So the term that matches the idea of crest-to-crest (or trough-to-trough) distance is wavelength.

The distance between consecutive crests or compressions is called the wavelength. This is the spatial length of one complete wave cycle, the gap from one repeating pattern to the next. Wavelength tells you how far the wave travels before the pattern repeats, and it’s what you measure in meters (often symbolized by lambda).

Amplitude is how tall the wave is from rest to a crest (or to a trough). Frequency is how many cycles pass a point each second, describing speed in time, not space. A trough is simply the lowest point of the wave, not a measure of distance between repeats.

So the term that matches the idea of crest-to-crest (or trough-to-trough) distance is wavelength.