You are sitting in a stationary boat and your friend is sitting in another boat

Question

You are sitting in a stationary boat and your friend is sitting in another boat nearby. Ocean swells (long waves) are passing by. You notice that whenever you are at the crest of a wave (i.e. the crest is passing under you) your friend is at the crest of the next wave. The boats are 8 m apart. You time the waves and find that the time between the arrival of each crest is 4 s. What is the wavelength of the ocean swell?

What is the period of the swell?

What is the frequency of the swell?

How far does a crest travel in 4 s? What do you conclude is the speed of the waves?

Explanation / Answer

Wavelength is distance from crest to crest = 8m

Period is time from crest to crest = 4s

Frequency = 1/Period = 1/4 = .25 Hz

The crest travels 8 meters in 4 sec

Speed = 8/4 = 2m/s

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