Deck 2: Sound and Psychoacoustics

Question 1

A sound wave is __________________________

A) a variation in air pressure at a point in the range 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
B) an audio signal
C) an electromagnetic wave in the air
D) a vibration of atoms

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Sound pressure drops _____ dB each time the distance from the source doubles.

A) 3
B) 10
C) 6
D) 1

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Loud sounds have ____________________.

A) high frequencies
B) low frequencies
C) low amplitude
D) high amplitude

Answer 3

D

Question 4

One thousand cycles per second is abbreviated __________.

A) 1 kHz
B) 1000 cy/sec
C) 1 kilocycles/sec
D) 1000 waves/sec

Question 5

A high-pitched sound has a ___________________.

A) high amplitude
B) irregular waveform
C) high frequency
D) wide waveform

Question 6

If you combine two identical waves 180 degrees out of phase, what happens?

A) nothing
B) silence
C) constructive interference
D) beats

Question 7

A complex wave is made of ______________.

A) fundamental frequencies and harmonics
B) an irregular waveform
C) an out-of-phase waveform
D) several recordings mixed together

Question 8

Noise (in audio) is ___________________.

A) Undesired sound
B) an irregular waveform
C) often a hiss sound
D) something that can be expressed in S/N
E) all of the above

Question 9

The four parts of an envelope are _________________.

A) First part, second part, third part, fourth part
B) attack, decay, sustain, release
C) outer edge, inner edge, top limit, bottom limit
D) timbre, maximum, minimum, note shape

Question 10

Sounds with short envelopes ___________________.

A) have quick attacks.
B) are transients.
C) might be a guitar pluck or drum hit.
D) are shorter than sounds with long envelopes.
E) all of the above.

Question 11

The speed of sound is ____________________.

A) about 1 foot per millisecond.
B) 1800 feet per second.
C) 1130 miles an hour.
D) instantaneous.

Question 12

An echo is ____________________.

A) a delay.
B) a repetition of a sound more than 50 milliseconds after the original sound.
C) a smooth decay of sound.
D) something you hear in the mountains.

Question 13

Reverberation is _____________________.

A) a wiggly, pulsing sound
B) a series of echoes.
C) a delay.
D) acoustic absorption.