Question

A fisherman notices that his boat is moving up and down periodically, owing to waves on the surface of the water. It takes 3.5 s for the boat to travel from its highest point to its lowest, a total distance of 0.57 m. The fisherman sees that the wave crests are spaced 5.8 m apart.

(a) How fast are the waves traveling?
(b) What is the amplitude of each wave?
(c) If the total vertical distance traveled by the boat were 0.30 m but the other data remained the same, how would the answers to parts (a) and (b) be affected?

Answer 1

1.2 m/s

0.31 m

0.15 m

Amplitude is 0.31 m

The waves are traveling at 1.2 m/s

The amplitude would be 0.15 m. The speed would remain the same.

(i think) (but try it)