Consider the wave equation y = 5mm sin [1cm−1 − 1 x - 60s−1 − 1 t]. The wave number is?

Consider the wave equation y = 5mm sin [1cm−1 ${}^{-1}$x - 60s−1 ${}^{-1}$t]. The wave number is?

Answer Details

The wave number is a measure of how many waves fit into a unit distance. In the given wave equation, the wave number is 1 cm^(-1). This can be seen from the argument of the sine function, which is 1 x - 60 t. The units of x and t are cm and s, respectively, so the units of the argument are cm^(-1) s^(-1). The wave number is therefore equal to the coefficient of x in the argument, which is 1 cm^(-1).