A wave travels from medium 1 into medium 2.

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Waves · Waves

Problem

A wave travels from medium 1 into medium 2. (i) Show that the frequency of the wave remains the same when it crosses the boundary between the two media. (ii) Using the result of part (i), derive an expression for the ratio λ2λ1\dfrac{\lambda_{2}}{\lambda_{1}} in terms of the speeds v2v_{2} and v1v_{1} of the wave in the two media. (iii) Water waves move from a deep region where their speed is 1.5 m/s1.5\,\text{m/s} to a shallow region where their speed is 1.0 m/s1.0\,\text{m/s}. If the wavelength in deep water is 3.0 cm3.0\,\text{cm}, calculate the wavelength in shallow water.

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