Beats occur when two waves with nearly identical but not equal frequencies interact and interfere with each other. The interference causes the amplitude of the resulting wave to vary periodically over time. The rate at which the amplitude varies, known as the beat frequency, is proportional to the difference between the individual frequencies. Beats can be observed in the amplitude over time graph as the amplitude alternates between constructive and destructive interference. To determine the amplitude of the resulting wave function from two interfering waves, their individual wave functions are combined using the equation for a resultant amplitude that includes the mean angular frequency and angular frequency difference.