For a certain transverse wave, the distance between two successive crests is 1.20 m, and eight crests pass a given point along the direction of travel every 12.0 s. calculate the wave speed.
The distance between two successive crests of the wave corresponds to the wavelength of the wave, so: [tex]\lambda=1.20 m[/tex] 8 Crests of the wave pass a given point in t=12.0 s. This means that the frequency of the wave (the number of oscillations per second) is given by [tex]f= \frac{8}{12.0 s}=0.67 Hz [/tex]
And now we can calculate the speed of the wave, which is given by the product between wavelength and frequency: [tex]v=\lambda f = (1.20 m)(0.67 Hz)=1.79 m/s[/tex]
