Question

If 10 waves hit a dock every 16 seconds, what is the period and frequency of each wave?

a) Period: 1.6 seconds, Frequency: 0.625 Hz
b) Period: 160 seconds, Frequency: 0.00625 Hz
c) Period: 0.16 seconds, Frequency: 6.25 Hz
d) Period: 16 seconds, Frequency: 0.0625 Hz

Answer 1

The period of each wave is 1.6 seconds and the frequency is 0.625 Hz when 10 waves hit a dock every 16 seconds.

Step-by-step explanation:

If 10 waves hit a dock every 16 seconds, the period (T) of each wave is the total time divided by the number of waves, so T = 16 seconds / 10 waves = 1.6 seconds. The frequency (f) of a wave is the inverse of the period, thus f = 1 / T = 1 / 1.6 seconds = 0.625 Hz. Therefore, the correct answer is:

1. Period: 1.6 seconds
2. Frequency: 0.625 Hz

From this example, if you were to shake the end of a taut spring up and down 10 times a second, the frequency would be 10 Hz and the period would be the inverse of the frequency, which is 0.1 s.