What term describes the number of waves that pass a given point in one second?

The term that describes the number of waves that pass a given point in one second is frequency. Frequency is a fundamental concept in wave physics, measured in hertz (Hz), where one hertz is equivalent to one wave passing a point per second. It indicates how often the wave cycles repeat in a unit of time.

Amplitude, on the other hand, refers to the height of a wave from its rest position to its crest or trough, which provides information about the energy of the wave but does not relate to the number of waves per second. Wavelength is the distance between successive crests or troughs of a wave, indicating the physical space occupied by one full cycle of the wave, but it also does not refer to the rate at which waves pass a point. Velocity describes the speed of the wave's propagation through a medium, combining both frequency and wavelength in the relationship that wave speed equals frequency times wavelength, but it is not directly defining how many waves pass in one second. Thus, frequency is the precise term for the concept in the question.