A fisherman notices that his boat is moving up and down periodically rowing to waves on the surface of the water. It takes 3.0 seconds for the boat to travel from its highest point to it's lowest, a total distance of 0.800m. The fisherman sees that the wave crests are spaced 8.0m apart. What is the speed of the water waves?

2 answers

wavelength=16m f=1/6sec A=.4m

f*lambda=speed
crest to trough (half wavelength) time is 3.0 s , so 6.0 s for a full wavelength

the wavelength is 8.0 m

wave speed is ... 8.0 m / 6.0 s