← all cardsTopic 11 · Wave Motion · Definitions
Period & frequency
● VERBATIM — examined word-for-wordT: time for one complete oscillation of a particle. f: number of complete oscillations per unit time. Set by the source — every particle oscillates at the source's frequency.
f = 1/TWhat this actually means
T and f are two views of the same fact: how long one full wobble takes, and how many full wobbles fit into each second. f = 1/T converts between them.
The source sets the frequency and every particle down the line copies it. That is why f is the one quantity that survives a change of medium: the source has not changed.
Graph discipline: T is read only from a displacement-time graph. A snapshot cannot show you time.
Prove it — watch it be true
- Raise the f slider and watch every bead oscillate faster together
- Read T off the y–t graph: one full cycle of a single particle
- Check f = 1/T against the slider value