A student reading his physics book on a lake dock notices that the distance between two incoming wave crests is about 0.65 m, and he then measures the time of arrival between the crests to be 1.8 s. What is the approximate speed of the waves?

wave speed =

wavelength * frequency, or
wavelength/period

To find the approximate speed of the waves, we can use the formula:

Speed = Distance / Time

In this case, the distance between two wave crests is given as 0.65 m, and the time of arrival between the crests is given as 1.8 s.

Now, simply substitute these values into the formula:

Speed = 0.65 m / 1.8 s

Using a calculator, we can divide 0.65 by 1.8 to get the speed of the waves.