Question

The number of waves that pass through a given point in a certain amount of time, usually one second?

Answer 1

It is frequency.

Explanation:

Frequency is the number of waves that pass through a point in one second. The unit for frequency is `1/"s"`, `"s"^(-1)`, or Hertz `("Hz")`. The faster the waves, the higher the frequency.

The frequency of electromagnetic waves, such as visible light, is related to the speed of light and wavelength:

`c=lambda*nu`,

where:

`c` is the speed of light `3.00xx10^8` `"m"`, `lambda` (pronounced lamda) is the wavelength, and `nu` (pronounced noo) is the frequency.

`nu=c/lambda`

Frequency is also related to the energy of a wave.

`E=h*nu`,

where:

`E` is energy and `h` is Planck's constant `(6.626xx10^(-34)` `"J"*"s")`.

When calculating with frequency, it is best to use `1/"s"` or `"s"^(-1)"` rather than `"Hz"`.