When we say "the time period of a wave is 4 s" what does that mean?

prajputprajput Admin Posts: 98
in STEM
When we say "the time period of a wave is 4 s" what does that mean? Does it take 4 s to travel a certain distance (say 1m)?
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  • KremellaKremella Posts: 2,485Admin
    Every wave undergoes periodic or cyclic motion. The time required to complete one cycle is referred as the time period of a wave. So the statement means that components of the wave take 4 s to complete an entire cycle.
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  • kkanadekkanade Posts: 3,300Forum Coordinator
    The second part of your question actually refers to the velocity of the wave. So if a wave took 4 seconds to travel 1 m, its velocity would be 1/4=0.25m/s. But the time period of 4 s does not give any information about the velocity of the wave (unless you know the wavelength of the wave in which case velocity=wavelength/time period of the wave)
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