NSCI 225 Exam 3 – Study Guide, Revision Notes, and Practice Questions for Exam
Preparation
physical definition of sound - ✔✔pressure changes in the air or other medium
perceptual definition of sound - ✔✔the experience we have when we hear
sound as a physical stimulus - ✔✔a vibratory disturbance that consists of waves that occurs in
air or some other medium
condensation - ✔✔increase in pressure pushes particles together
rarefaction - ✔✔decrease in pressure; particles spread out
properties of sound waves - ✔✔frequency, amplitude, waveform
frequency - ✔✔the number of times that a wave repeats itself in a second
pure tones - ✔✔sounds with a single frequency; pretty rare
tuning fork - ✔✔a two-pronged, fork-like instrument that vibrates when struck; used to test
hearing, especially bone conduction
frequency is the inverse of - ✔✔wavelength
perceptual quality associated with frequency - ✔✔pitch
, frequency is measured in - ✔✔Hertz (Hz)
tone chroma - ✔✔quality of a tone as we move from octave to octave
the higher the frequency - ✔✔the higher the pitch
Humans hear between __ and ___ Hz - ✔✔20, 20,000
amplitude - ✔✔the pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure and the maximum
pressure of the wave
amplitude is measured in - ✔✔decibels (dB)
dp SPL = - ✔✔20 log (p/20)
perceptual quality associated with amplitude - ✔✔volume
waveform - ✔✔the shape and uniformity of the wave
perceptual quality associated with waveform - ✔✔timbre
complex waves are made up of - ✔✔harmonics
fundamental frequency - ✔✔1st harmonic
higher harmonics are - ✔✔whole number multiples of the fundamental
Preparation
physical definition of sound - ✔✔pressure changes in the air or other medium
perceptual definition of sound - ✔✔the experience we have when we hear
sound as a physical stimulus - ✔✔a vibratory disturbance that consists of waves that occurs in
air or some other medium
condensation - ✔✔increase in pressure pushes particles together
rarefaction - ✔✔decrease in pressure; particles spread out
properties of sound waves - ✔✔frequency, amplitude, waveform
frequency - ✔✔the number of times that a wave repeats itself in a second
pure tones - ✔✔sounds with a single frequency; pretty rare
tuning fork - ✔✔a two-pronged, fork-like instrument that vibrates when struck; used to test
hearing, especially bone conduction
frequency is the inverse of - ✔✔wavelength
perceptual quality associated with frequency - ✔✔pitch
, frequency is measured in - ✔✔Hertz (Hz)
tone chroma - ✔✔quality of a tone as we move from octave to octave
the higher the frequency - ✔✔the higher the pitch
Humans hear between __ and ___ Hz - ✔✔20, 20,000
amplitude - ✔✔the pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure and the maximum
pressure of the wave
amplitude is measured in - ✔✔decibels (dB)
dp SPL = - ✔✔20 log (p/20)
perceptual quality associated with amplitude - ✔✔volume
waveform - ✔✔the shape and uniformity of the wave
perceptual quality associated with waveform - ✔✔timbre
complex waves are made up of - ✔✔harmonics
fundamental frequency - ✔✔1st harmonic
higher harmonics are - ✔✔whole number multiples of the fundamental
