Question

You are at a pool party and notice that 2 waves pass by a floating ball in 4 seconds. If the distance between each wave crest is 2 meters, what is the speed of the waves? Note: wave speed (m/s) = Frequency (Hz) x Wavelength (m) To calculate Frequency=Number of waves/Time (1 point) Responses 1 m/s 1 m/s 6 m/s 6 m/s 2 m/s 2 m/s 1.5 m/s

Answer 1

To find the speed of the waves, we can use the formula for wave speed:

\[ \text{Wave speed} = \text{Frequency} \times \text{Wavelength} \]

1. Calculate the frequency:
   • You observed that 2 waves pass by in 4 seconds.
   • Frequency (f) is calculated as:

\[ f = \frac{\text{Number of waves}}{\text{Time}} = \frac{2 \text{ waves}}{4 \text{ seconds}} = 0.5 \text{ Hz} \]

2. Determine the wavelength:

   • The distance between each wave crest (wavelength) is given as 2 meters.

3. Now, plug in the values:

   • Wavelength (λ) = 2 m
   • Frequency (f) = 0.5 Hz

\[ \text{Wave speed} = f \times \lambda = 0.5 \text{ Hz} \times 2 \text{ m} = 1 \text{ m/s} \]

Therefore, the speed of the waves is 1 m/s.