properties of waves

• Amplitude


  The maximum displacement of a point on a wave away from its undisturbed position
• Wavelength


  The distance from a point on one wave to the equivalent point on the adjacent wave
• Frequency


  The number of waves passing a point each second, measured in Hertz (waves per second)
• Period


  The time in seconds for one wave to pass a point, calculated as 1 divided by the frequency in Hertz
• Calculating frequency from a wave diagram


  Count the total number of waves in 1 second
• Calculating period from frequency

  Period (s) = 1 / Frequency (Hz)
• Transverse wave examples


  • 5 waves in 1 second = 5 Hz
  • 3 waves in 1 second = 3 Hz
• The properties of waves (amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period) are important to be able to label and calculate in exams