SOLUTION: The loudness of sound is based on intensity level measured in decibels using a logarithmic scale and is relative to (a ratio of) the weakest sound the ear can hear. I am needing

Question 73487This question is from textbook college algebra
: The loudness of sound is based on intensity level measured in decibels using a logarithmic scale and is relative to (a ratio of) the weakest sound the ear can hear.
I am needing:
The formula for measuring sound.
Pick a specific sound, give the decibels of the sound, and explain what this measurement means.
This question is from textbook college algebra

Answer by bucky(2189) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
There are various measurements for sound ... pitch, frequency, amplitude, speed, loudness, phase,
intensity, and wavelength are some of the measurements that can be made. The one I think
you are most interested in is the measure of sound pressures that are measured by a quantity
called sound level. Sound level is measured in decibels (dB).
.
Sound level is a ratio of the pressure of a given sound wave to the pressure of the most
faintly heard sound. The most faintly heard sound has a pressure of Newtons
per square meter. (In scientific work Newtons per square meter is sort of the same thing as tire
pressure in a bike or car tire. Tire pressure, in the US at least, is normally measured in pounds per square inch.)
.
Anyhow, a sound level of Newtons per square meter is called 0 dB. All other
sound levels are measured relative to that level.
.
The equation for the sound level S in decibels is:
.

.
where P is the measured pressure in Newtons per square meter and is the
reference level where sound is the lowest that can be heard. And log is the logarithm
to the base 10.
.
If an actual sound is 10 times the intensity of the reference the sound level will be increased
by 10 dB. An actual sound intensity that is 100 times the reference level will compute to
be 20 dB. That means that a sound intensity of 100 dB is times as great in
intensity than the reference level. This is obviously not a linear relationship but to the
human ear loudness is about right. A 100 dB sound is as much louder than a 70 dB sound as
the 70 dB sound is to a 40 dB sound.
.
Your ear is not an exact instrument. Its sensitivity depends on the frequency (pitch) and the
sound level. And the ear tends to provide different judgments of sound depending on
whether the sound is a single tone or a mixture of various tones. People generally feel that
a 10 dB increase in sound level is about twice as loud as it was before the dB was cranked up.
And sound intensity has to go up by about 3dB before most people can sense a change.
.
As for typical sound levels:
.
Threshold of hearing is by definition 0 dB
Normal breathing - about 10 dB
A whisper is about 20 dB.
A quiet library or home study room is about 40 dB.
A classroom is about 50 dB.
Normal speech is about 60 db.
Busy street traffic is around 70 dB
A diesel semi-truck motoring on down the highway is about 90 dB
Loud rock music about 115 dB
The threshold of pain around 120 dB
Next to a jet engine about 140 dB.
.
Probably more than you wanted to know about sound, but maybe some of this will help.
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