Question

what is the difference between amplitude and frequency?

Answer 1

Amplitude and frequency are two of the basic properties of periodic motions. A proper understanding in these concepts is required in the study of motions such as simple harmonic motions and damped harmonic motions. In this article, we are going to discuss what frequency and amplitude are, their definitions, the measurement and dependencies of amplitude and frequency, and finally the difference between amplitude and frequency.FrequencyFrequency is a concept discussed in periodic motions of objects. To understand the concept of frequency, a proper understanding of periodic motions is required. A periodic motion can be considered as any motion that repeats itself in a fixed time period. A planet revolving around the sun is a periodic motion. A satellite orbiting around the earth is a periodic motion even the motion of a balance ball set is a periodic motion. Most of the periodic motions we encounter are circular, linear or semi-circular. A periodic motion has a frequency. The frequency means how “frequent” the event is. For simplicity, we take frequency as the occurrences per second. Periodic motions can either be uniform or non-uniform. A uniform can have a uniform angular velocity. Functions such as amplitude modulation can have double periods. They are periodic functions encapsulated in other periodic functions. The inverse of the frequency of the periodic motion gives the time for a period. Simple harmonic motions and damped harmonic motions are also periodic motions. Thereby the frequency of a periodic motion can also be obtained using the time difference between two similar occurrences. The frequency of a simple pendulum only depends on the length of the pendulum and the gravitational acceleration for small oscillations.