How to Convert Frequency to Meters

Although sound from a musical instrument seems to travel directly from the instrument to your ear, the energy which creates the sound actually follows as a long -- considering the size of the particles, anyway -- bumpy path to get to you. Like radio waves, microwaves and many other types of energy, sound travels through the air in a wave pattern which varies from energy particle to energy particle. High-pitched sounds, for example, travel in waves with high crests and low troughs -- they have a high frequency. Regardless of the particle, you can use its frequency to calculate its wavelength, the horizontal distance between waves.

Things You'll Need

  • Calculator
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Convert the particle's speed to meters per second if it isn't already in those units. For example, if you want to calculate the wavelength in meters of the note B-flat on a clarinet, but have its speed -- the speed of sound -- written as 1125 feet per second, you need to convert it, keeping in mind that 1 foot = 0.3048 meters: 1125 * 0.3048 = 342.9 m/s.

    • 2

      Represent the particle's frequency in hertz, keeping in mind that 1 MHz is 1,000,000 Hz. For example's sake, assume the B-flat note has a frequency of 550 Hz.

    • 3

      Divide the particle's speed in meters per second by its frequency in hertz to get its wavelength in meters. For the B-flat note coming out of the clarinet, this would be: 342.9/550 = .623 m.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved