2.1.4 Characteristics of Waves: Frequency

There is another way of characterizing the time interval of a wave. We timed how long it takes for one wavelength to pass a fixed point to get to the period. We could also turn this around and say how many waves go by in 1 second.

We can easily determine this number, which we call the frequency and denote f. To determine the frequency, how many waves go by in 1s, we work out what fraction of a wave goes by in 1 second dividing 1 second by the time it takes T. If a wave takes a second to go by then in 1 second two waves must go by. . The unit of frequency is the .

Waves have a characteristic frequency.