A skipper on a boat sees wave crests passing the anchor chain every 5 seconds and estimates the distance between crests in 15 m. What is the speed of the water waves? A) 3 m/s B) 15 m/s C) 5 m/s D) none

A wave is produced in a given string by an oscillator that wiggles one end of that string up and down at a given frequency, f. What happens to the wave number, k, if the frequency is increased by a factor of four? a) k is 1/4 as big b) k is 1/2 as big c) k is constant d) k is 2x as big c) k is 4x as big

1) If you want to know the speed of a long-wavelength wave (e.g. tsunami or tide), you can use the shallow-water wave velocity equation   v=gd   where g is acceleration due to gravity (~10 m/s2), d is water depth (in meters), and v = speed (in meters per second).   a) Calculate the speed of a tsunami (in meters per second), assuming an average ocean depth of 4000m.   b) Convert the speed of a tsunami from meters per second to meters per hour (note that 1 hr = 3600 seconds).   c) Convert the speed of a tsunami from meters per hour to miles per hour (note that 1 mile = 1600m).

1. Storms in the South Pacific can create waves that travel all the way to the California coast, 12000 km away. How long does it take them to travel this distance if they travel at 21 m/s? t D V hrs