21 May Basics of Sound
What is sound?
Vibrations or waves that travel through the air as audible pressure.
How do we talk about sound?
There are two key characteristics to consider when we are discussing sound:
- Loudness
- Frequency (also known as pitch)
Humans have a wide range of hearing for all of the sounds around us. However most people can only hear sounds between: 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz.
Loudness
Decibel (db)
Unit of measure used to describe the sounds around us.
Decibels measure the height or amplitude of sound waves to
determine how loud a sound is.
Larger sound waves = louder volume
Frequency
Hertz
Hertz (Hz) Unit of measure to describe the pitch of a sound. Hertz measure how high or low a sound is. Super high pitch = higher number of Hertz. Ex: 20,000 Hertz is so high; most humans can only just hear it.
How Does Frequency Work?
Frequency of pitch is the number of cycles a sound wave makes per second (think of how frequently something occurs).
