The speed of ocean waves depends on the depth of the water; the deeper the water, the faster the wave travels. Use this to explain why ocean waves crest and “break” as they near the shore.

Power is the time-dependent derivative of work.

The expression for power can be written as:

$$\begin{gathered} \mathbf{P}\mathbf{=}\frac{\mathbf{W}}{\mathbf{t}} \\ \mathbf{}\mathbf{}\mathbf{}\mathbf{=}\frac{\mathbf{Fd}}{\mathbf{t}} \\ \mathbf{}\mathbf{}\mathbf{}\mathbf{=}\mathbf{Fv} \end{gathered}$$

Here, Pis the power, W is the work, t is time, F is the force, d is the displacement, and v is the velocity of the object.

The value of the power can be determined by computing the value of the force applied to the object and the velocity of the object, as shown in the preceding expression. The value of the power is proportional to the velocity of the object. As a result, as the velocity increases, the amount of power increases as well.

The speed of an ocean wave and the square of its amplitude's value determines how powerful it is. The law of conservation of energy states that the wave's power never changes. The ocean's depth decreases as it approaches the coast. As a result, the wave's speed decreases as well. Only when the wave's amplitude rises do the wave's power remain constant. The wave breaks as a result of this.

As a result, the ocean waves crest and break occur near the shore due to an increase in the amplitude of the ocean wave.