What is the frequency of a wave having a period equal to 18 seconds?

Question

A.
6.6 × 10-2 hertz
B.
5.5 × 10-2 hertz
C.
3.3 × 10-2 hertz
D.
1.8 × 10-2 hertz
E.
8.0 × 10-3 hertz

Answer 1

The frequency \( f \) of a wave is the reciprocal of its period \( T \), which can be expressed with the following formula:

\[ f = \frac{1}{T} \]

Given that the period \( T = 18 \) seconds, we can calculate the frequency:

\[ f = \frac{1}{18 \text{ seconds}} \approx 0.0556 \text{ hertz} \]

Now, we can convert this to scientific notation:

\[ 0.0556 \text{ hertz} = 5.56 \times 10^{-2} \text{ hertz} \]

The option that is closest to this value is:

B. \( 5.5 \times 10^{-2} \text{ hertz} \)