The distance between two corresponding parts of a wave is called?

The distance between two corresponding parts of a wave is called?

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

Answer: (C)

Wavelength is the distance over which a wave repeats its shape. For a transverse wave, that means from one crest to the next crest (or from one trough to the next trough). For a longitudinal wave, it’s the distance between successive compressions (or successive rarefactions). This spacing is what carries the wave through space and is related to speed by the equation v = fλ, where the speed equals frequency times wavelength. The other terms describe different ideas: frequency is how often the wave repeats per second, amplitude is how high the wave peaks are, and spectrum is the range of frequencies present.

Wavelength is the distance over which a wave repeats its shape. For a transverse wave, that means from one crest to the next crest (or from one trough to the next trough). For a longitudinal wave, it’s the distance between successive compressions (or successive rarefactions). This spacing is what carries the wave through space and is related to speed by the equation v = fλ, where the speed equals frequency times wavelength. The other terms describe different ideas: frequency is how often the wave repeats per second, amplitude is how high the wave peaks are, and spectrum is the range of frequencies present.