Question

A fisherman in a row boat notices that one wave crest passes his fishing line every 5 seconds. He estimates the distance between the crests to be 1.5 meters and estimates that the crest of the waves are 0.5 meters above the troughs. Using this data, determine the amplitude and speed of the waves.

Answer 1

The amplitude of the wave is 0.25 meters and the speed is 0.3 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

The amplitude of a wave is the distance from the equilibrium position (the middle point between the crest and trough) to the crest or trough of the wave. In this case, the fisherman estimates that the height of the wave is 0.5 meters above the troughs, which means the amplitude is 0.25 meters.

The speed of a wave can be calculated using the formula: speed = wavelength * frequency. In this case, the fisherman estimates that the distance between the crests is 1.5 meters and one wave crest passes his fishing line every 5 seconds. Therefore, the wavelength is 1.5 meters and the frequency is 1/5 Hz. Plugging these values into the formula, we can calculate the speed of the waves.

Amplitude = 0.25 meters, Speed = wavelength * frequency = 1.5 meters * (1/5) Hz = 0.3 m/s.