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  1. Glossary
  2. /Physics
  3. /Frequency

What is Frequency?

In short

Frequency is the number of complete waves, or complete vibrations, that pass a point or happen every second. Its unit is the hertz (Hz).

In simple words

One hertz means one complete vibration per second. Frequency is linked to the time period TTT, the time taken for one complete vibration, by f=1Tf = \dfrac{1}{T}f=T1​. The frequency of a wave is set by its source and does not change when the wave moves from one medium into another. Pitch depends on frequency, and the colour of light depends on it too.

Example

A tuning fork completes 512512512 vibrations in 1 s1\ \text{s}1 s, so its frequency is 512 Hz512\ \text{Hz}512 Hz and its time period is T=1512 Hz=0.00195 sT = \dfrac{1}{512\ \text{Hz}} = 0.00195\ \text{s}T=512 Hz1​=0.00195 s.

Also searched as: variable for frequency.

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Related terms

  • Wavelength
  • Amplitude
  • Wave Speed Equation (v = fλ)

← All glossary terms

Learn it in

  1. Describing a Sound WaveClass 9 to 10
  2. Travelling Waves and Wave SpeedClass 11 to 12
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Practise

  1. A uniform rope of length 4.9 m and mass 2.0 kg hangs from a ceiling…Advanced
  2. A worker strikes a steel railway rail with a hammer…Hard
  3. At 0 °C and a pressure of 1.013 × 10⁵ Pa, the density of dry air is 1.293 kg/m³…
Medium
  • A steel wire has a diameter of 0.50 mm. The density of steel is 7800 kg/m³…Medium
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    Quick questions

    1. A light string is joined to a heavier string whose linear mass density is 4 times as…Advanced
    2. A wave on a stretched string is y = (3.0 mm) sin(25.0x - 400t), with x in metres and t…Hard
    3. A sitar player plucks a string and strikes a 293 Hz fork at the same moment, and counts…Hard

    More Physics terms

    1. Acceleration
    2. Acceleration Due to Gravity (g)
    3. Adiabatic Process
    4. Angle of Incidence
    5. Angle of Reflection
    6. Archimedes' Principle
    All Physics terms →

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