Animal Communication Exam 3 – Animal Behavior Study Guide, Advanced Concepts and
Practice Review
Sensory modalities - ✔✔acoustic, visual, chemical, tactile, electrical
Sender --> Receiver Acoustic - ✔✔generation, modification, coupling, propagation, coupling,
modification, classification
what does sound result from? - ✔✔a pressure wave that travels in a medium
rarefaction - ✔✔decrease of ambient pressure
condensation - ✔✔increase in ambient pressure
pressure wave - ✔✔the first layer of molecules bounces back; decrease of energy with
distance from disk
pulse wave - ✔✔sound wave with finite duration
sinusoidal wave - ✔✔sound wave with periodic duration
how does particle move with wave? - ✔✔bounces back and forth with wave
waveform - ✔✔used graphically to represent wave; represent pressure waves as changes of
pressure over time
what kind of properties do periodic waves have? - ✔✔temporal properties
,period - ✔✔interval of time (sec) between repetitions
frequency - ✔✔number of complete cycles per second (Hz); inverse of period, related to
perceived pitch
phase - ✔✔when the wave achieves a specific part such as a valley of peak
amplitude - ✔✔sound pressure, the difference between the peak and the ambient pressure
what does amplitude refer to - ✔✔how "loud" a sound is
what is amplitude measured in? - ✔✔Pascals (Pa)
longitudinal waves - ✔✔most common in sounds traveling through air and water
transverse waves - ✔✔occur in long and thin solids like a guitar string
surface waves - ✔✔travel along surface (frogs, water striders), clockwise movement of particle
Rayleigh waves - ✔✔propagate along the surface of a solid (elephants, earthquakes),
counterclockwise movement of particle
elephants rayleigh waves - ✔✔trunks in air, vibrate from ground through bones to ears
complex waveforms - ✔✔more complex than a sinusoidal wave, overlap a bunch of sinusoidal
waves, pressure over time
, amplitude modulation - ✔✔variation in amplitude during the signal
sonogram - ✔✔represent complex waveforms in frequency over time
what do brighter colors mean in a sonogram? - ✔✔higher amplitudes
fundamental frequency - ✔✔lowest harmonic
What analysis is used to produce sonograms? - ✔✔Fourier Analysis
are animal signals periodic? - ✔✔no, most are a series of different waveforms
Do animal ears use Fourier Analysis? - ✔✔They perform a similar approach before sending the
information to the brain
What are the two types of interference? - ✔✔constructive and destructive
constructive interference - ✔✔waves in phase; both waves have the SAME frequency and
amplitude. When they meet each other, the amplitude is twice as large
destructive interference - ✔✔waves out of phase; SAME frequency, but one wave peaks when
the other has a valley; the waves cancel each other out
how are beats produced? - ✔✔two waves with different frequencies
what is sound propagation impacted by? - ✔✔sound intensity, medium, distance
Practice Review
Sensory modalities - ✔✔acoustic, visual, chemical, tactile, electrical
Sender --> Receiver Acoustic - ✔✔generation, modification, coupling, propagation, coupling,
modification, classification
what does sound result from? - ✔✔a pressure wave that travels in a medium
rarefaction - ✔✔decrease of ambient pressure
condensation - ✔✔increase in ambient pressure
pressure wave - ✔✔the first layer of molecules bounces back; decrease of energy with
distance from disk
pulse wave - ✔✔sound wave with finite duration
sinusoidal wave - ✔✔sound wave with periodic duration
how does particle move with wave? - ✔✔bounces back and forth with wave
waveform - ✔✔used graphically to represent wave; represent pressure waves as changes of
pressure over time
what kind of properties do periodic waves have? - ✔✔temporal properties
,period - ✔✔interval of time (sec) between repetitions
frequency - ✔✔number of complete cycles per second (Hz); inverse of period, related to
perceived pitch
phase - ✔✔when the wave achieves a specific part such as a valley of peak
amplitude - ✔✔sound pressure, the difference between the peak and the ambient pressure
what does amplitude refer to - ✔✔how "loud" a sound is
what is amplitude measured in? - ✔✔Pascals (Pa)
longitudinal waves - ✔✔most common in sounds traveling through air and water
transverse waves - ✔✔occur in long and thin solids like a guitar string
surface waves - ✔✔travel along surface (frogs, water striders), clockwise movement of particle
Rayleigh waves - ✔✔propagate along the surface of a solid (elephants, earthquakes),
counterclockwise movement of particle
elephants rayleigh waves - ✔✔trunks in air, vibrate from ground through bones to ears
complex waveforms - ✔✔more complex than a sinusoidal wave, overlap a bunch of sinusoidal
waves, pressure over time
, amplitude modulation - ✔✔variation in amplitude during the signal
sonogram - ✔✔represent complex waveforms in frequency over time
what do brighter colors mean in a sonogram? - ✔✔higher amplitudes
fundamental frequency - ✔✔lowest harmonic
What analysis is used to produce sonograms? - ✔✔Fourier Analysis
are animal signals periodic? - ✔✔no, most are a series of different waveforms
Do animal ears use Fourier Analysis? - ✔✔They perform a similar approach before sending the
information to the brain
What are the two types of interference? - ✔✔constructive and destructive
constructive interference - ✔✔waves in phase; both waves have the SAME frequency and
amplitude. When they meet each other, the amplitude is twice as large
destructive interference - ✔✔waves out of phase; SAME frequency, but one wave peaks when
the other has a valley; the waves cancel each other out
how are beats produced? - ✔✔two waves with different frequencies
what is sound propagation impacted by? - ✔✔sound intensity, medium, distance
