Grade 11 Math — Functions & Applications · The wave equation
One equation, every wave
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One equation, every wave

Every wave that ever travelled obeys one relation: v=fλv = f\lambda — read aloud: v equals f lambda. λ\lambda is the Greek letter lambda — the Greek L, for the Length of one cycle. The logic is bookkeeping, not physics: ff cycles leave each second, each one λ\lambda metres long, so the front of the train advances fλf\lambda metres per second.

And the units audit themselves: a hertz is a per-second, so Hz×m\mathrm{Hz} \times \mathrm{m} is metres per second exactly — the cycles cancel on the way through. Run that check on every rearrangement in this lesson: if the units refuse to cancel into the answer's units, the rearrangement is wrong, no appeal. Units that do work out never prove you right — the check is a one-way street.