Final answer:
The period of a wave is the time taken for one complete cycle, and it is the inverse of the frequency, which is the number of cycles per second.
Step-by-step explanation:
The period of a wave is the duration of time it takes for one complete wave cycle to occur. Period is the INVERSE of frequency. When we discuss the properties of waves, the period (often represented by the symbol T) is essentially the time for one complete cycle, which can be visualized as starting at the zero point, reaching a wave crest, descending to a trough, and returning to the zero point again.
Conversely, the frequency (represented by the Greek letter nu, v) is the number of waves that pass a given point within one second. It's usually measured in Hertz (Hz), which is equivalent to cycles per second or s-1. Since frequency is the number of cycles that occur in a second, the period being the time for one cycle means these two quantities are mathematically related as inverses of each other.