What is the frequency?

Question

What is the frequency (in reciprocal seconds) of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength of 1.39 cm?

Enter answer in scientific notation

____ x 10----s^-1

Answer 1

You would use the equation:

Lamda = v/f

where v would be for the speed of light or 3.0x10^8m/s and Lamda is for wavelength.

Plug in your knowns and solve for the unknown frequency.

make sure you first convert your wavelength in centimeters to meters so that the units can line up and cancel out as they should.

100cm = 1m

1,39cm x 1m/100cm centimeters cancel centimeters top to bottom and you will have meters.

0.0139 m = (3.0x10^8m/s)/f

now solve for f

3.0x10^8m/s = f(0.0139m)

now divide both sides by 0.0139m and you will have f by itself

f= 2.16 x10^10 s^-1 or Hz

and when you do that it works out because meters will cancel each other top to bottom and you will still have s^-1 and another way to express this is Hz it is s^-1 a way to express frequency.