Question

A floating object oscillates up and down 2 complete cycles in 1 second as a water wave of wavelength 5 meters passes by. The speed of the wave is

Answer 1

Answer:

10 m/s

Explanation:

The speed of a wave is given by

$v=\lambda f$

where

$\lambda$ is the wavelength

f is the frequency

For the wave in this problem,

- The frequency is given by the number of oscillations per second, so

$f=\frac{2 cycles}{1 s}=2 Hz$

- The wavelength is

$\lambda=5 m$

So, the wave speed is

$v=(5 m)(2 Hz)=10 m/s$