Basic Terms Connected to Waves

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The four important terms used in the study of waves are Wavelength, Amplitude, Frequency and Wave velocity.

Wavelength 'l' is the distance between two consecutive points on the wave which are in the same phase. (same phase means same state of vibrations)

Amplitude is the maximum displacement of the particle from its mean position.

Frequency is the number of periodic oscillations completed in one second. The frequency f = 1/T where 'T' is the time taken to complete one oscillation. The unit of this measure is hertz [Hz].

Wave velocity 'v' is the velocity with which the energy is propagated in a medium.

Sound wave

As wavelength is the distance covered during one oscillation and frequency is the number of oscillations per second, the product of the wavelength and frequency would give us the wave velocity.

Distance travelled in 1 s = number of waves in one second x wave length

Wave velocity = Frequency x Wavelength

or, v = f x l