NASA communicates with the Space Shuttle and International Space Station using Ku-band microwave radio frequencies of 13 GHz. To calculate the wavelength of these radio waves, the speed of light is divided by the frequency. With a speed of light of 3 x 10^8 m/s and a frequency of 13 GHz or 10^9 Hz, the wavelength is calculated to be 300 mm.

1. NASA communicates with the Space Shuttle and International Space Station using Ku-band
microwave radio. Suppose NASA transmits a microwave signal to the Space Shuttle using radio
waves with a frequency of 13.GHz. Calculate the wavelength of these radio waves. Round your
answer to 2 significant digits. 0mm
Solution
for an electromagnetic radiation
wavelength = speed of light / frequency
speed of light = 3 x 10^8 m/s
frequency of radio waves = 13 GHz = 10^9 Hz = 10^9 s-1
plug in the values
wavelength = 3 x 10^8 ms-1 / 10^9 s-1
wavelength = 0.3 m
wavelength = 0.3 m x 1000 mm / 1 m
wavelength = 300 mm
so
the wavelength of these radio waves is 300 mm