Question

A star sends out a radio wave into space that has a frequency of `5.5 xx 10^7` `Hz`. What is the wavelength of this radio wave?

Answer 1

Electromagnetic waves travel at a velocity `c` `(ms^-1)`, and are described by the equation `c=f lambda`, where `f` is the frequency `(Hz=s^-1)` and `lambda` is the wavelength `(m)`. Rearranging, `lambda=c/f=(3.0xx10^8)/(5.5xx10^7)=5.45` `m`.