Question

if all the waves were measured for a period of 5 seconds, which wave had the highest frequency?

Explanation:

Step1: Recall the formula for frequency

Frequency \( f=\frac{n}{t} \), where \( n \) is the number of waves and \( t \) is the time. Here \( t = 5\) s. So \( f\) is proportional to \( n\) (since \( t\) is constant).

Step2: Count the number of waves in each graph

• For the first graph (top - most), count the number of complete wave cycles. Let's assume we count \( n_1\) cycles.
• For the second graph, count \( n_2\) cycles.
• For the third graph, count \( n_3\) cycles.
• For the fourth graph, count \( n_4\) cycles.

Since frequency \( f=\frac{n}{t}\) and \( t = 5\) s (constant), the wave with the maximum number of cycles (\( n\)) in \( t = 5\) s will have the highest frequency. By visual inspection (assuming the first graph has more cycles than the others), the first wave (the top - most one in the given set of graphs) has the highest number of cycles in \( 5\) s.

Answer:

The top - most wave (the first one in the given set of graphs)