The method of Rankine source distribution is emerging as a powerful yet simple alternative for the solution of complicated free surface problems. But it has been uncertain whether the radiation condition could be satisfied exactly by distributing the simple sources on the free surface only. In this paper, it is proved rigorously that the Rankine sources, whose intensities are varying sinusoidally along the axis satisfying the free surface boundary condition, generate the radiation waves both in the infinite and finite-depth flows. A formula is derived to give the upper and lower bounds of the errors in the induced velocity computation that will be introduced by truncating the extent of source distribution on the free surface. Since the truncation is inevitable in the numerical analysis, this formula may be used as a criterion to limit the position of the field points, where velocity computation is made, away from the truncation boundary. A typical analysis shows that the maximum error will be 3.4 percent of the exact induced velocity when the field point is on the free surface two wave lengths away from the truncation boundary.