Question

it takes a water wave 5.2 seconds to travel between two docks that are 19m apart. the distance between 2 crests is 1.5m. what is the frequency of the water wave.

Answer 1

Given,

The time it takes for the wave to travel between two docks, t=5.2 s

The distance between two docks, d=19 m

The wavelength of the wave, λ=1.5 m

The speed of the water wave is given by,

$v=\frac{d}{t}$

On substituting the known values,

$\begin{gathered} v=\frac{19}{5.2} \\ =3.65\text{ m/s} \end{gathered}$

The relation between the speed of the water wave and the frequency is given by,

$v=\lambda f$

Where f is the frequency of the water wave.

On substituting the known values,

$\begin{gathered} 3.65=1.5\times f \\ \Rightarrow f=\frac{3.65}{1.5} \\ =2.43\text{ Hz} \end{gathered}$

Thus the frequency of the water wave is 2.43 Hz