Midterm 1

Question 1

What is sound?

Answer 1

Fluctuations in air pressure across time that is created by the motion or vibration of an object (ex. vibration of vocal chords)

Question 2

What is hearing?

Answer 2

The process that transforms sound waves into neural signals that can be interpreted by our brain

Question 3

What is psychoacoustics (hearing science)?

Answer 3

The study of the relationship between the physical properties of found and the sensations they produce

Question 4

If you look at a small area within the sound medium, the area’s ___ changes over ____.

Answer 4

pressure, time

Question 5

Graphically, a sound’s waveform is its pressure as a function of ____.

Answer 5

Time

Question 6

What are the x and y axis for a waveform graph?

Answer 6

X-axis = time
Y-axis = amplitude

Question 7

In a sine wave, the period is the ___taken to complete one cycle. What is the unit of period?

Answer 7

Time, seconds

Question 8

What are the 3 parameters that determine a sine wave?

Answer 8

Amplitude, frequency, and phase

Question 9

T or F: A complex tone’s period is always identical with the period of its fundament component.

Answer 9

True

Question 10

How do you define the bandwidth of a bandpass filter? What is the cut-off frequency?

Answer 10

Bandwidth is the distance between two cut-off frequencies. The cut-off frequency is -3dB

Question 11

What is dB SPL?

Answer 11

Decibels sound pressure level

Question 12

What is the reference SPL?

Answer 12

0 dB or 20 micropascals. It’s the minimum sound pressure level that the human ear can detect

Question 13

What makes up the peripheral auditory system?

Answer 13

Outer + middle + inner ear