Answer to Question #188650 in Physics for Faith Kome

Question

The equation Y = A sin (Wt-Kx) represents a plane wave traveling in a medium along the x-direction, Y being the displacement of the point x at time, t.

1. Given that x is in metres and t is in seconds, state the unit of K and W

2. What physics quantity does W/K represent? (Justify your answer)

Answer 1

1. The unit of K is m^-1, the unit of W is s^-1 because the product of W and t, and K and x must be radians (conditionally unitless).

2. The unit of W/K is m/s, which means that this fraction represents velocity.