Speed of Waves Calculation

How to calculate the speed of a wave?

Marc and Linh stretch out a long spring on the classroom floor. Marc holds one end of the spring still. Linh creates waves in the spring by moving the other end right and left with a frequency of 2 Hz. If wave crests are 0.5 m apart, what is the speed of the waves?

Calculation of Wave Speed

The speed of a wave can be calculated using the formula: Speed = Wavelength x Frequency.

In this scenario, Linh creates waves in the spring with a frequency of 2 Hz and wave crests that are 0.5 m apart. To calculate the speed of the waves, we can use the formula given:

Speed = Wavelength x Frequency

Given that the frequency is 2 Hz and the wavelength (wave crest distance) is 0.5 m, we can substitute these values into the formula:

Speed = 2 Hz × 0.5 m

Speed = 1 m/s

Therefore, the speed of the wave created by Linh in the spring with a frequency of 2 Hz is 1 m/s.