Question

The distance from one molecule in a body to the nearest molecule in the body occupying a similar position and moving in the same direction is a

a. rarefaction.
b. refraction.
c. wavelength.
d. compression.

Answer 1

The answer is wavelength. It is the distance between corresponding points of two consecutive waves (corresponding points are particles or points in the same phase, meaning the points have completed identical fractions of their periodic motion. In a transverse wave it is the distance between two successful crests or troughs while in a longitudinal wave is the distance between two successful compressions or rarefactions.