Ryan and Carson attended their church's youth retreat at Camp Paradise this past fall. On Saturday afternoon they took a walk out to the harbor and watched incoming waves from Lake Michigan rock the boating piers up and down. Ryan and Carson observed that the piers made a complete up and down vibration cycle in 6.6 seconds. The piers were positioned a distance of 24 meters apart. When one pier was at a high position, the neighboring pier was at a low position and there was exactly one wave crest between them. Determine the wavelength, frequency and speed of the waves.
Simple harmonic motion
Simple harmonic motion is a type of periodic motion in which an object undergoes oscillatory motion. The restoring force exerted by the object exhibiting SHM is proportional to the displacement from the equilibrium position. The force is directed towards the mean position. We see many examples of SHM around us, common ones are the motion of a pendulum, spring and vibration of strings in musical instruments, and so on.
Simple Pendulum
A simple pendulum comprises a heavy mass (called bob) attached to one end of the weightless and flexible string.
Oscillation
In Physics, oscillation means a repetitive motion that happens in a variation with respect to time. There is usually a central value, where the object would be at rest. Additionally, there are two or more positions between which the repetitive motion takes place. In mathematics, oscillations can also be described as vibrations. The most common examples of oscillation that is seen in daily lives include the alternating current (AC) or the motion of a moving pendulum.
Ryan and Carson attended their church's youth retreat at Camp Paradise this past fall. On Saturday afternoon they took a walk out to the harbor and watched incoming waves from Lake Michigan rock the boating piers up and down. Ryan and Carson observed that the piers made a complete up and down vibration cycle in 6.6 seconds. The piers were positioned a distance of 24 meters apart. When one pier was at a high position, the neighboring pier was at a low position and there was exactly one wave crest between them. Determine the wavelength, frequency and speed of the waves.
Trending now
This is a popular solution!
Step by step
Solved in 3 steps with 3 images
