What is the period and frequency of a wave? - GCSE or A-Level students may ask this

A wave could be transverse or longitudinal. We like to think in terms of whole waves. This is when a particle comes back to it's original position and direction of movement. For transverse waves, we can see it as a sine wave passing by (drawing difference between the wave passing and particle's motion). For longitudinal you may have to use your imagination a bit more... (hand motion and drawing) a particle goes up to an amplitude, down to a low amplitude and back to it's original position. That's a whole wave.Period:We can think of the period as the time taken for a single whole wave to pass any point. The time taken for all that, is the period, measured in...(asking the student to fill in the gap before me) secondsParticle goes up down up, 1 waveTime taken, secondsFrequency:Frequency is just how many times a wave passes in a second. measured in Hz or 1/show many times does particle go up down up? = How many waves occur?1 second

SP
Answered by Saabir P. Physics tutor

2102 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

A nail of mass 7.0g is held horizontally and is hit by a hammer of mass 0.25kg moving at 10ms^-1. The hammer remains in contact with the nail during and after the blow. (a) What is the velocity of the hammer and nail after contact?


A crane is attached to one end of a steel girder, and lifts that end into the air. When the cable attached to the end of the girder is at 20 degrees to the vertical, the tension is 6.5kN. Calculate the horizontal and vertical components of this force.


A cable with a diameter of 6mm is used to lift crate. Calculate the mass of the crate required to create a stress of 350 MPa.


How do you work out the direction and strength of the force on a current carrying wire in a magnetic field?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning