Although 0 dB is often referred to as the lower threshold of human hearing, it is important to realize that the human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies of sound. In other words, a particular noise may sound louder or softer depending on the frequency of the sound wave being transmitted. Because of this variation, scientists have defined a unit of loudness, called a phon, to represent the intensity of sound waves with a frequency of 1000 Hz: A 60-phon sound is one that is perceived by the human ear to have the same loudness as a sound wave with an intensity of 60 dB and a frequency of 1000 Hz. Figure Intensity (in dB) 100 80 60 40 20 0 100 500 100 phons 80 phons 60 phons 40 phons 20 phons 0 phons 1,000 Frequency (in Hz) 5,000 <1 of 1 000'01 There is no simple mathematical formula for converting phons into decibels. The relationship between these two measures of intensity has been determined by experiment. The graph (Figure 1) displays the perceived loudness of sound waves of different intensities (vertical axis) and frequencies (horizontal axis). Each individual curve represents a sound that is perceived by the human ear to be equivalent to a specific phon level. To practice reading this graph, note that a sound wave of intensity 70 dB that vibrates with a frequency of 50 Hz is perceived by the human ear as a 40-phon sound. The lowest curve, labeled 0 phons, forms the true lower limit to human sound perception. (Actually, even this statement is not completely true owing to variations in sound perception in the general population.) Part A At approximately what frequency do most people perceive the least intense sounds? Enter your answer numerically in hertz to two significant figures. IVE ΑΣΦ 1 ? Submit Part B h → Submit Request Answer For a sound at 100 Hz, what is the decibel level necessary for human perception? Enter your answer numerically in decibels to two significant figures. ▸ View Available Hint(s) ΠΕ ΑΣΦ Hz ? dB
Properties of sound
A sound wave is a mechanical wave (or mechanical vibration) that transit through media such as gas (air), liquid (water), and solid (wood).
Quality Of Sound
A sound or a sound wave is defined as the energy produced due to the vibrations of particles in a medium. When any medium produces a disturbance or vibrations, it causes a movement in the air particles which produces sound waves. Molecules in the air vibrate about a certain average position and create compressions and rarefactions. This is called pitch which is defined as the frequency of sound. The frequency is defined as the number of oscillations in pressure per second.
Categories of Sound Wave
People perceive sound in different ways, like a medico student takes sound as vibration produced by objects reaching the human eardrum. A physicist perceives sound as vibration produced by an object, which produces disturbances in nearby air molecules that travel further. Both of them describe it as vibration generated by an object, the difference is one talks about how it is received and other deals with how it travels and propagates across various mediums.
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