Which statement correctly defines the unit hertz?

Which statement correctly defines the unit hertz?

• A. One cycle per second
• B. One thousand cycles per second
• C. One million cycles per second
• D. One billion cycles per second

Answer: (A)

Frequency is how many times something repeats each second. The hertz is the SI unit for that quantity, defined as one cycle per second. So one hertz means a single complete cycle each second. The other values are simply multiples with SI prefixes: a thousand cycles per second is a kilohertz, a million is a megahertz, and a billion is a gigahertz. In short, hertz measure cycles per second, and one hertz equals one cycle per second.

Frequency is how many times something repeats each second. The hertz is the SI unit for that quantity, defined as one cycle per second. So one hertz means a single complete cycle each second. The other values are simply multiples with SI prefixes: a thousand cycles per second is a kilohertz, a million is a megahertz, and a billion is a gigahertz. In short, hertz measure cycles per second, and one hertz equals one cycle per second.