Question

The period of a wave is equal to the time it takes for one wavelength to pass by a fixed point. You stand on a pier watching water waves and see 10.9 waves pass by in a time of 28 seconds.What is the period of the water waves? Round to nearest .01 and do not include units in your answer.

Answer 1

Answer:

T = 2.57 s

Explanation:

The period of a wave is equal to the time it takes for one wavelength to pass by a fixed point.

No of waves observed = 10.9

Time taken, t = 28 s

We need to find the period of the water waves. Number of waves per unit time is called frequency. Let it is f. So,

$f=\dfrac{n}{t}\\\\f=\dfrac{10.9}{28}\\\\f=0.389\ Hz$

If T is period of the wave. It is equal to the reciprocal of frequency.

$T=\dfrac{1}{f}\\\\T=\dfrac{1}{0.389}\\\\T=2.57\ s$

So, the period of the water waves is 2.57 seconds.