The frequency of a wave is the number of waves produced in a given amount of time. Velocity implies speed and direction, so normally we talk about the ‘speed’ of a wave. The speed of a wave is equal to the product of its wavelength and frequency.

These two relationships between frequency and wavelength (λ), and between frequency and velocity (v), bring us to the following frequency equation: f = v / λ .

The velocity of light, v, is the product of its wavelength, λ , and its frequency, f. This means that the wavelength is the velocity, v, divided by the frequency, f.

The Wavelength is the distance of one complete wave cycle. For example; the distance from crest to crest or trough to trough would be 1 wavelength. 6- An Ocean wave would be an example of a Transverse wave. 7- The distance from one trough to another trough is called a Wavelength .

As discussed above, the wavelength of a wave is the length of one complete cycle of a wave. For a transverse wave, the wavelength is determined by measuring from crest to crest.

Alternating current (ac) frequency is the number of cycles per second in an ac sine wave. Cycle = One complete wave of alternating current or voltage. Alternation = One half of a cycle. Period = The time required to produce one complete cycle of a waveform.

Calculating Phase Shift Dividing the frequency into 1 gives the period, or duration of each cycle, so 1/100 gives a period of 0.01 seconds. The phase shift equation is ps = 360 * td / p, where ps is the phase shift in degrees, td is the time difference between waves and p is the wave period.

1 Cycle per Second: A period of 1 second is equal to 1 Hertz frequency. Period is the inverse of frequency: 1 Hz = 1 cps. Hertz is the SI base unit of frequency defined as one cycle per second.