john stands on the harbour wall and sees four wave crests pass in 8s. he estimates the distance between the two successive crests as 5m. the time is measured from the beginning of the first crest to the end of the fourth crest .
14.1 calculate the period of the wave
14.2 calculate the speed of the wave
14.1 To calculate the period of the wave, we need to divide the total time by the number of wave crests. In this case, the total time is 8 seconds and the number of wave crests is 4.
Period = Total Time / Number of Wave Crests
Period = 8s / 4
Period = 2s
Therefore, the period of the wave is 2 seconds.
14.2 To calculate the speed of the wave, we need to determine the distance traveled by the wave during the given time.
Distance = Number of Wave Crests * Distance between Successive Crests
Distance = 4 * 5m
Distance = 20m
Now, we can divide the distance by the total time to find the speed of the wave.
Speed = Distance / Total Time
Speed = 20m / 8s
Speed = 2.5 m/s
Therefore, the speed of the wave is 2.5 m/s.