What property is the number of complete cycles that pass a point in one second?

What property is the number of complete cycles that pass a point in one second?

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

Answer: (C)

Frequency is the number of complete cycles that pass a point each second, measured in hertz (Hz). If a wave has a frequency of 5 Hz, five complete cycles pass by every second. This tells you how quickly the wave repeats. Wavelength describes the distance between corresponding points on successive cycles, which is a spatial measure rather than a rate. A crest is simply the top point of the wave, and amplitude is how tall the wave is from rest to its top, both describing shape rather than how often cycles occur.

Frequency is the number of complete cycles that pass a point each second, measured in hertz (Hz). If a wave has a frequency of 5 Hz, five complete cycles pass by every second. This tells you how quickly the wave repeats. Wavelength describes the distance between corresponding points on successive cycles, which is a spatial measure rather than a rate. A crest is simply the top point of the wave, and amplitude is how tall the wave is from rest to its top, both describing shape rather than how often cycles occur.