What are the three factors that determine the size of a wave?

Asked by: Jeremy Keisler

Wave height is affected by wind speed, wind duration (or how long the wind blows), and fetch, which is the distance over water that the wind blows in a single direction. If wind speed is slow, only small waves result, regardless of wind duration or fetch.

What are the factors which depend on the size of waves?

Fetch, wind speed and wind duration.

What are the three factors that create waves?

There are three main factors that affect wave formation: wind velocity, fetch, and duration.

What are the 3 types of ocean waves?

Three types of water waves may be distinguished: wind waves and swell, wind surges, and sea waves of seismic origin (tsunamis).

What three factors determine the amplitude of waves that reach the coast?

Wave height in the open ocean is determined by three factors. The greater the wind speed the larger the waves. The greater the duration of the wind (or storm) the larger the waves. The greater the fetch (area over which the wind is blowing – size of storm) the larger the waves.

What are the 3 coastal processes?

The three principle marine processes that influence coasts are erosion, transportation and deposition.

How do you measure the size of a wave?

Crest – The highest point on the wave above the still-water line. Trough – The lowest point on the wave below the still-water line. Wave Height – The vertical distance between crest and trough. Wavelength – The horizontal distance between successive crests or troughs.

What 3 changes occur to an ocean wave as it approaches the land?

A breaking wave occurs when one of three things happen: The crest of the wave forms an angle less than 120˚, The wave height is greater than one-seventh of the wavelength (H > 1/7 L), or. The wave height is greater than three-fourths of the water depth (H > 3/4 D).

Which factors play a role in creating ocean waves?

Waves are most commonly caused by wind. Wind-driven waves, or surface waves, are created by the friction between wind and surface water. As wind blows across the surface of the ocean or a lake, the continual disturbance creates a wave crest.

What causes the three different types of breakers?

There are three main types of breakers: spilling, plunging, and surging. These are related to the steepness of the bottom, and how quickly the wave will slow down and its energy will get dissipated.

Which factors affect the speed of ocean waves?

The speed of a wave is dependant on four factors: wavelength, frequency, medium, and temperature. Wave speed is calculated by multiplying the wavelength times the frequency (speed = l * f).

What are the 3 types of wind generated waves?

Three different types of wind waves develop over time:

• Capillary waves, or ripples, dominated by surface tension effects.
• Gravity waves, dominated by gravitational and inertial forces. …
• Swells, which have traveled away from where they were raised by the wind, and have to a greater or lesser extent dispersed.

How do you know if the waves will be big?

If the wind blows for less than 24 hours or the fetch is smaller than 200 miles the waves will be smaller. Lastly but most importantly is the wind speed. The stronger the wind the bigger the wave. Also waves made in a stronger wind will last over a longer period of time.

Which factors increase the power of the wave?

The energy and power of a wave are proportional to the square of the amplitude of the wave and the square of the angular frequency of the wave. is the angular frequency of the wave, and v is the speed of the wave.

What are 3 ways electromagnetic waves interact with matter?

Three ways that waves may interact with matter are reflection, refraction, and diffraction. Reflection occurs when waves bounce back from a surface that they cannot pass through.

Does amplitude affect wavelength?

Amplitude does not affect wavelength. It also does not affect wave speed. Amplitude is the energy of the wave measured from the rest position to the top of the crest. A wave with more energy has a higher up crest/ higher amplitude.

Does amplitude affect wave speed?

Changing the frequency or amplitude of the waves will not change the wave speed, since those are not changes to the properties of the medium.

Which type of harmonic motion refers to oscillatory motion with decreasing amplitude?

When the motion of an oscillator reduces due to an external force, the oscillator and its motion are damped. These periodic motions of gradually decreasing amplitude are damped simple harmonic motion.

How does frequency affect wavelength and amplitude?

Wavelength and frequency are inversely related so that longer waves have lower frequencies, and shorter waves have higher frequencies. In the visual system, a light wave’s wavelength is generally associated with color, and its amplitude is associated with brightness.

How does increasing frequency affect wavelength?

The number of complete wavelengths in a given unit of time is called frequency (f). As a wavelength increases in size, its frequency and energy (E) decrease. From these equations you may realize that as the frequency increases, the wavelength gets shorter. As the frequency decreases, the wavelength gets longer.

Which of the following types of electromagnetic radiation has the lowest frequency?

1 Answer. Radio waves have the lowest frequency.

What do electric and magnetic fields contain and transport?

What do electric and magnetic fields contain and transport? Energy.