What is the term for the distance traveled by a wave in one second?

The term for the distance traveled by a wave in one second is wave velocity. Wave velocity refers to how fast a wave propagates through a medium. This can be calculated using the formula: wave velocity = wavelength × frequency. Essentially, it combines the distance that a wave travels over a period of time, which is indicative of how quickly the wave moves from one point to another.

Wavelength, on the other hand, is the distance between consecutive crests or troughs of a wave and does not account for time. Wave frequency denotes how many wave cycles pass a given point in one second, measured in hertz (Hz), which also does not represent the distance traveled per second. Wave amplitude refers to the maximum displacement of points on a wave from its rest position, which pertains to the wave's energy but not its speed through a medium. Thus, wave velocity distinctly describes the distance covered by the wave in a specified time.