High School

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 28.4 seconds. The distance between two successive crests is 39.4 meters.

Calculate the wave's:

(a) Period

(b) Frequency

(c) Wavelength

(d) Speed

Answer :

The wave's period is 5.68 s, frequency is approximately 0.176 Hz, wavelength is 39.4 m, and speed is approximately 6.93 m/s. These calculations are based on the given information that five additional wave crests pass in 28.4 seconds, and the distance between crests is 39.4 meters.

To calculate the wave's properties, we'll use the fact that five additional crests pass the woman in 28.4 seconds after the first crest. This means that five wave periods occur in 28.4 seconds.

(a) Period

The period (T) of a wave is the time it takes for two successive crests to pass a given point. To find the period, we divide the total time by the number of crests (excluding the first one, as we start counting after it passes):

T = total time / number of periods = 28.4 s / 5 = 5.68 s

(b) Frequency

The frequency (f) of a wave is the number of waves passing a point in a given amount of time, usually expressed in hertz (Hz), which are waves per second. It is the inverse of the period:

f = 1 / T = 1 / 5.68 s ≈ 0.176 Hz

(c) Wavelength

The provided distance between two successive crests is the wavelength (λ), which is 39.4 meters.

(d) Speed

The speed (v) of the wave can be calculated by multiplying the wavelength by the frequency:

v = λ * f = 39.4 m * 0.176 Hz ≈ 6.93 m/s

Thus, the wave's period is 5.68 s, its frequency is approximately 0.176 Hz, the wavelength is 39.4 m, and the speed is approximately 6.93 m/s.