High School

Wireless microphones use radio waves with wavelengths of 0.500 m. Calculate the frequency of these radio waves in MHz.

A. [tex]6.00 \times 10^{14} \text{ MHz}[/tex]
B. 60.0 MHz
C. 600. MHz
D. [tex]6.00 \times 10^8 \text{ MHz}[/tex]

Answer :

Sure, let's solve this step by step!

To find the frequency of radio waves, we use the relationship between the speed of light, frequency, and wavelength. The formula to calculate the frequency ([tex]\( f \)[/tex]) is:

[tex]\[ f = \frac{c}{\lambda} \][/tex]

Where:
- [tex]\( c \)[/tex] is the speed of light in a vacuum ([tex]\( 3.00 \times 10^8 \)[/tex] meters per second, m/s).
- [tex]\( \lambda \)[/tex] is the wavelength in meters (0.500 meters in this case).

Let's plug in the values:

[tex]\[ f = \frac{3.00 \times 10^8 \, \text{m/s}}{0.500 \, \text{m}} \][/tex]

First, divide the speed of light by the wavelength:

[tex]\[ f = \frac{3.00 \times 10^8}{0.500} \][/tex]

[tex]\[ f = 6.00 \times 10^8 \, \text{Hz} \][/tex]

The frequency we found is in Hertz (Hz). To convert this into Megahertz (MHz), we need to divide the frequency by [tex]\( 10^6 \)[/tex] because 1 MHz = [tex]\( 10^6 \)[/tex] Hz:

[tex]\[ f_{\text{MHz}} = \frac{6.00 \times 10^8 \, \text{Hz}}{10^6} \][/tex]

[tex]\[ f_{\text{MHz}} = 600 \, \text{MHz} \][/tex]

So, the frequency of the radio waves is [tex]\( 600 \, \text{MHz} \)[/tex].

To summarize, the correct answer from the given options is:

600. MHz