A sound wave travels at 343 m/s and a compression passes by every 12 ms. What is the wavelength of this sound?
watch the units and you can see what to multiply or divide
343 m/s * .012s = 4.116 m
To find the wavelength of a sound wave, you need to know the speed of the sound wave and the frequency of the wave.
The speed of sound in air at room temperature is approximately 343 m/s, as given in the question.
The frequency of a wave is the number of cycles passing by in one second and is inverse to the period of the wave. The period is the time it takes for one complete cycle to pass.
To find the frequency of the sound wave, we need to calculate the period first. The period is given as 12 ms.
Convert the period to seconds by dividing it by 1000:
12 ms ÷ 1000 = 0.012 s
Now, calculate the frequency by taking the reciprocal of the period:
f = 1 ÷ 0.012 s = 83.33 Hz
Now that we have the frequency (f) of the sound wave and the speed (v) of the sound wave, we can use the formula:
wavelength (λ) = speed of sound (v) ÷ frequency (f)
Substituting the values:
wavelength (λ) = 343 m/s ÷ 83.33 Hz ≈ 4.12 m
Therefore, the wavelength of the sound wave is approximately 4.12 meters.