Question

Explain the following terms
(A) Amplitude
(B) Wavelength
(C) Frequency

Answer 1

For any vibrating particle, the term amplitude means the maximum displacement from the mean position, the wavelength is the distance travelled in a complete vibration. Similarly, the frequency is the number of complete vibrations per second.

Complete answer:
For any particle that is moving in a periodic motion, that parameters of its motion can be determined by a few common terms. They are the amplitude, frequency, and the wavelength.
A) Amplitude: The amplitude of any periodic motion is the maximum displacement that a particle suffers from the initial position during the vibration. It is denoted by the letter A and has the dimension of length.
B) Wavelength: Wavelength of a wave is the distance between two similar points in a wave. For example, wavelength of a wave can be taken as the distance between two peaks or two troughs in a wave. It is denoted by $\lambda$ and has the dimension of length.
C) Frequency: The number of complete vibrations that a particle performs per second is called the frequency of the vibration. It is denoted by the letter $f$ and has the dimension of time inverse and the SI the unit of frequency is given by Hertz (Hz). The frequency is related to the wavelength as, $f = \dfrac{v}{\lambda }$ where $v$ is the speed of the wave.

Note:
A few examples of the periodic motion are the simple harmonic motion like the motion of a pendulum or the vibration of atoms about their mean position. We can calculate the various parameters from their equations.