Exam 2 Flashcards
what is a sound?
small and rapid variations in pressure in a fluid medium (air or water)
what is a sound wave?
the variation in pressure over time
what is waveform or an oscillogram?
plots the pressure of a sound wave at a given location at each instant of time
what is a periodic wave?
a wave with the same pattern of air pressure variation repeated exactly over and over
how are frequency and amplitude percieved?
frequency as pitch and amplitude as loudness
in a periodic wave each repetition is called a what?
cycle
what’s a wave that isn’t periodic?
aperiodic
what is a sine wave?
periodic wave that has a smooth and symmetrical curve connecting the points of maximum and minimum pressure
a sine wave can be defined by what parameters? why?
frequency and amplitude - because it’s a simple wave
a sine wave is what type of sound?
pure tone
what is frequency?
the number of times a wave repeats itself during a unit of time
what is the unit of frequency?
Hertz or cps (cycles per second)
if a tuning fork repeats once every .01 seconds - how many hertz is it?
100 Hz, repeats 100 times per second
___ frequency –> ___ pitch
higher, higher
pitch is what?
psychological
what is amplitude?
the magnitude of the pressure variation in the wave - the difference between the peak pressure and average atmospheric pressure
loudness is what?
psychological
any wave that is NOT a sine wave is what?
a complex wave
all sound waves in the real world are what type of waves?
complex wave
what is Fourier’s Theorem?
any complex wave can be analyzed as a combination of superimposed sine waves
how are two waves superimposed?
their pressures at a particular point in time are added together
what’s a frequency spectrum?
the distribution of energy over frequencies, it shows the amplitude of each component sine wave in the complex wave
what is a wave that is almost periodic?
quasiperiodic
why can’t any sound be truly periodic?
because it’s required to go on forever