A buoy bobs up and down in the ocean. The waves have a wavelength of 2.5 meters, and they pass the buoy at a speed of 4.0 meters/second. What is the frequency of the waves?

Answer 1

To calculate the frequency of the waves, you can use the wave equation, which relates the speed of the wave (v), wavelength (λ), and frequency (f) as follows:

\[ v = f \cdot \lambda \]

Where:

• \( v \) is the speed of the wave (4.0 m/s),
• \( \lambda \) is the wavelength (2.5 m),
• \( f \) is the frequency.

We can rearrange this equation to solve for frequency:

\[ f = \frac{v}{\lambda} \]

Now, substituting in the known values:

\[ f = \frac{4.0 , \text{m/s}}{2.5 , \text{m}} = 1.6 , \text{Hz} \]

Therefore, the frequency of the waves is 1.6 Hz.