Olympic swimmers can swim at a speed of 1.7 m/s. If an Olympic swimmer were swimming in the ocean on a day when the wavelength of the waves was 20m and the frequency was 1 Hz, would the swimmer be able to swim fast enough to avoid being lifted by a wave? Show your calculation. Would I use the formula wavespeed=wavelength times frequency? I still can't make it work out!
Yes, speed = distance/time = distance /T = distance * frequency
so
c = 20 * 1 = 20 m/s
which is much faster than the swimmer seems to swim.
To determine whether the Olympic swimmer would be able to swim fast enough to avoid being lifted by a wave, let's first calculate the wave speed using the formula you mentioned: wave speed = wavelength × frequency.
Given:
Wavelength = 20m
Frequency = 1 Hz
Plugging these values into the formula, we get:
Wave speed = 20m × 1 Hz = 20m/s
Now, let's compare the wave speed (20m/s) to the speed of the Olympic swimmer (1.7m/s).
If the wave speed is greater than the swimmer's speed, it would be difficult for the swimmer to outpace the wave and avoid being lifted. However, if the wave speed is less than the speed of the swimmer, they should be able to swim fast enough to avoid being lifted.
In this case, since the wave speed is 20m/s and the swimmer's speed is 1.7m/s, the wave speed is significantly greater than the swimmer's speed. Therefore, the swimmer would have difficulty swimming fast enough to avoid being lifted by the wave.
In conclusion, the Olympic swimmer would not be able to swim fast enough to avoid being lifted by the wave in this scenario.