Question
What is the relationship between wavelength and frequency?
Answer
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Ursa
Master · Tutor for 5 years
Answer
The relationship between wavelength and frequency is: Speed = Wavelength x Frequency. If the frequency increases, the wavelength decreases and vice versa, provided the speed of the wave stays constant.
Explanation
In physics, the wavelength and frequency are two important properties of a wave. The relationship between the two is given by the equation: Speed = Wavelength x Frequency.The wavelength of a wave is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is often determined by considering the distance between points of the same phase. In essence, it is representative of the "length" of the wave.On the other hand, frequency is a measure of the number of complete wave cycles that occur in a unit of time. Generally, this is measured in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz). The frequency essentially tells us how "fast" the wave oscillates.Perhaps an easy way of thinking about them would be consider observed changes when doubling the wave frequency. When you double the frequency of a wave, the wavelength has to become half for the wave speed to remain constant.