What does the period and amplitude mean?

Question

What exactly does the period and amplitude represent or mean? I know how to calculate it, but how can I link it back to my assignment on Biorhythms. E.g. The period represents the length of time Jesse's test take. I need to link back my period and amplitude results similar to the example I used. Thank you.

Answer 1

I don't know what your assignment was, so it's hard to be specific.  However, here's what period and amplitude mean in general.

 

If you have a quantity that tends to rise and fall with a regular rhythm, then you can kind of think of it as a wave.  A wave goes up and down (usually) with a repeated motion.  The amplitude is the HEIGHT of the wave.  Generally that means half the distance from the low point to the high point.  That's because the height is thought of as the distance between the MIDPOINT and the HIGH POINT, and then also between the MIDPOINT and the LOW POINT.

 

The period is the length of time it takes to get from the high point of the wave, down to the low point, and back to the high point.  That's one complete cycle.

 

In very smooth wave, that doesn't change, the amplitude and period don't vary.  That would be the case with a sound wave for a perfect single tone.  If the sound is traveling in air, the quantity that rises and falls is the air pressure, which oscillates many times per second.  The amplitude would give a measure of the intensity or loudness of the sound, and the period gives a measure of the pitch (though pitch is usually measured by "frequency," which is directly related to the period and the speed of the wave).

 

In other waves, the amplitude and period can fluctuate over time, due to the specific characteristics of the quantity you're using.  This is more likely to be the case in real-world physical events, such as the measure of biorhythms.

 

So look at the data you're using in this assignment and see if you can relate the way I've described period and amplitude to this data.