Question

A woman is standing in the ocean, and she notices that after a wave crest passes by, five more crests pass in a time of 50.2 s. The distance between two successive crests is 30.2 m. What is the wave's (a) period, (b) frequency, (c) wavelength, and (d) speed

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

(a) The period of a wave is the time required for one complete cycle. In this case, we have the time of five cycles. So:

`T=(t)/(n)\\\\T=(50.2s)/(5)\\T=10.04s`

(b) The frequency of a wave is inversely proportional to its period:

`f=(1)/(T)\\f=(1)/(10.04s)\\f=0.01Hz`

(c) The wavelength is the distance between two successive crests, so:

`\lambda=30.2m`

(d) The speed of a wave is defined as:

`v=f\lambda\\v=(0.1Hz)(30.2m)\\v=3.02(m)/(s)`