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Name:____________________________________________________ Date:_________________ Class:________________
Physical Science- Wave Calculations
Speed of a wave = wavelength x frequency
v = λf
The speed of a wave depends on the medium that it is
travelling through.
v= velocity (speed), measured in m/s
λ= wavelength, measured in m
f= frequency, measured in Hz (Hz = 1/s)
f = 1/T
f=frequency, measured in Hz
T= period, measured in s
1. A wave along a guitar string has a frequency of 540 Hz and a wavelength of 2.5 meters. Calculate the speed of the wave.
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2. The speed of sound in air is about 340 m/s. What is the wavelength of sound waves produced by a guitar string vibrating
at 490 Hz?
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3. The speed of light is 300,000,000 m/s. What is the frequency of microwaves with a wavelength of 0.01 meter?
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4. What is the period of the microwaves in the above question?
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5. The string on a piano that produces an A sharp vibrates with a frequency of 235 Hz. If the sound waves produced by this
string have a wavelength in air of 1.49 meters, what is the speed of sound in air?
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6. The average wavelength in a series of ocean waves is 15.0 meters. A wave crest arrives at the shore on an average of
every 10.0 seconds, so the frequency is 0.100 Hz. What is the average speed of the waves?
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7. An FM radio station broadcasts electromagnetic waves at a frequency of 94.5 MHz (equal to 94,500,000 Hz). These
radio waves have a wavelength of 3.17 meters. What is the speed of the waves?
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8. Green light has a wavelength of 0.00000052 meters. The speed of light is 300,000,000 m/s. Calculate the frequency of
green light waves with this wavelength.
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9. Calculate the period of the green light waves in the question above.
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10. What is the wavelength of a sound wave with a frequency of 220 Hz if its speed is 340 m/s?
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11. What is the period of the sound wave above?
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12. Ocean waves are hitting a beach at a rate of 3.5 Hz.
a. What is the period of the waves?
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b. Calculate the speed of the waves if the distance between wave crests is 1.3 meters.
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13. The note A above middle C on a piano emits a sound wave with a wavelength of 0.77 meters.
a. What is the frequency of the wave? Use 340 m/s as the speed of the sound wave.
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b. What is the period of the sound wave?
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14. If the distance between 2 troughs of a wave is 2.6 meters and it is traveling at a speed of 129 m/s, find the period of the
wave.
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PHYSICAL SCIENCE: INTRO TO WAVES REVIEW
NAME __________________________________
Be able to fully describe or explain all of the following:
Waves—what do they carry
Medium—given a wave description, be able to state the medium
Transverse waves
o Crest, trough, amplitude, wavelength
Longitudinal waves
o Compressions, rarefactions, wavelength
The primary difference between transverse and longitudinal waves (how is energy moved relative to the medium?)
Frequency and it relationship to wavelength
Period and its relationship to frequency
The mathematical equations used to perform calculations among wavelength, speed, frequency, and period
The appropriate units of measurement and variables that represent wavelength, speed, frequency, and period
The major characteristics of the different forms of electromagnetic radiation
What electromagnetic radiation is made of and how fast it travels
The colors that make up the visible light spectrum in order of increasing or decreasing wavelength/frequency
PRACTICE
Wave Height
(cm)
5
-5
1.
2.
5.
6.
What type of wave is shown?
Label the crest, trough, amplitude, wavelength.
What type of wave is shown?
Label a compression, a rarefaction, and one wavelength.
3.
4.
What is the numerical value for amplitude of this particular wave?
How many total waves are shown above?