The period of a wave is the amount of time it takes for one complete wave cycle to pass a certain point. Imagine watching the waves on a beach; the period is how long it takes from when one wave crest (peak) passes you to when the next one does. On a graph, it can be worked out by measuring the time between two consecutive peaks, or two troughs. The period is usually measured in seconds. In physics, understanding the wave period helps us figure out how fast the wave is moving and its frequency, which is the number of wave cycles that pass a point each second. The period and frequency are related: the longer the period, the lower the frequency, and vice versa.
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