## units for frequency and wavelength [ENDORSED]

$c=\lambda v$

megangeorge-1K
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 3:01 am

### units for frequency and wavelength

what are the proper units for frequency and wavelength?

Thank You!

LilianKhosravi_1H
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:03 am

### Re: units for frequency and wavelength  [ENDORSED]

proper unit for frequency is Hertz (Hz) which is cycles per second (s^-1) and for wavelength it's usually m (or nm) but it depends on the question because it can ask for the wavelength in a particular unit.

megangeorge-1K
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 3:01 am

### Re: units for frequency and wavelength

thank you!

Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:04 am

### Re: units for frequency and wavelength

Would a typical question ask one to find both the frequency and the wavelength, and if so, what order would they need to found in?

Brynne Keyser 1B
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:03 am

### Re: units for frequency and wavelength

As others have said, frequency is measured in Hertz, or cycles per second. Wavelength is measured in meters.

Hope this helps!

Beverly Shih 1K
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Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2017 3:01 am
Been upvoted: 1 time

### Re: units for frequency and wavelength

I have seen questions that asked for both frequency and wavelengths, or just one. If you have one but not the other, it is easy enough to convert between frequency and wavelength using v = c/lambda, so it doesn't really matter which order you find them.

EllenRenskoff-1C
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Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:04 am

### Re: units for frequency and wavelength

On a related note, when we are showing the answer for a wavelength, should it always be in meters? For some questions in the solution manual, the final answer is written in nanometers. Does it matter which one we use for the final answer?

Emma Leshan 1B
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:03 am

### Re: units for frequency and wavelength

I believe it's preferred for very small wavelengths such as ones in the visible region to be written in nanometers, but you won't get points off for writing it in meters.

Melissa_Aguirre1J
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Nov 14, 2017 3:02 am

### Re: units for frequency and wavelength

Frequency is measured in Hertz or 1/sec (The units for Frequency is Hertz). The units for wavelength are meters.