For a transverse wave travelling along a straight line, the distance between two crests is 5 m and the distance between one crest and one trough is 1.5 m. The possible wavelengths, in metres, are

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(1) 1, 1/3, 1/5, …. Crest to crest is a whole number of wavelengths: 5=nλ. Crest to trough is an odd number of half wavelengths: 1.5=(2m+1)λ/2, i.e. λ=3/(2m+1). Both hold for λ=1 (n=5, m=1), λ=1/3 (n=15, m=4), λ=1/5 (n=25, m=7), and so on.

For a transverse wave travelling along a straight line, the distance between two crests is 5 m and the distance between one crest and one trough is 1.5 m. The possible wavelengths, in metres, are

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