ACOUSTICS

6.1 Definition 6.1.1 Acoustics

Acoustics is a science which deals with the production, control, transmission,
reception and effects of sound in an enclosed space

6.1.2 Sound
Sound is the human ears response to pressure fluctuations in the air caused
by vibrating objects. For example, a tap on the wall produces sound because
the tap makes a wall vibrate. The vibrating wall produces pressure
fluctuations in the air.
Sound travels in space by a phenomenon called wave motion. Wave motion
in air is similar to the motion of a ripple produced by dropping a pebble into a
water pond.

6.2 Nature of Sound

6.2.1 Types of Sound
1. Speech
2. Music
3. Noise

6.2.1 Physical Quantities of Sound

1. FREQUENCY (f) the number of sound ripples generated in unit
time.
The number of cycles that the air particles move back and forth in one
second in a sound wave is called the frequency of the wave. Its unit is cycles
per second (c/s) which is also termed Hertz (Hz) after the Austrian physicist
Heinrich Hertz (1857-94).

6.2.2 Physical Quantities of Sound

Eight frequency bands, or octaves, are considered in room acoustics with the following
center frequencies: 63 Hz, 125 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 4 kHz and 8 kHz.

6.2.2 Physical Quantities of Sound

Frequency range for speech and music:

6.2.2 Physical Quantities of Sound

2. SPEED (c)

The speed of sound in air has been measured as 344 m/sec (1,130 ft/sec). This
corresponds to 1,240 km/hr (770 mi/hr) which is extremely small as compared to the
speed of light (300,000 km/sec).
The speed of sound in air does not vary with the frequency of sound or its loudness.
Sounds at all audible frequencies, regardless of their loudness, travel at the same
speed

3. WAVELENGTH ()
The wavelength and the frequency of sound are related to each other as shown in the
equation below.

c=f
c = speed in meters per time
f = frequency in cycles per time
= meters

6.2.2 Physical Quantities of Sound

The wavelength of sound corresponding to the center frequencies are as
shown below:

FREQU
ENCY
63
125
250
500
1,000
2,000
4,000
8,000

WAVELE (ft)
NGTH
18.0
9.0
4.5
2.3
1.1
0.6
0.3
0.15

(m)
5.46
2.75
1.38
0.69
0.34
0.17
0.09
0.04

6.2.2 Physical Quantities of Sound

4. INTENSITY
- is defined as the amount of sound power falling on (or passing through, or crossing) a
unit area. Since the unit of power is watt (W), the unit of sound intensity is watt per
square meter (W/m2).

The sound intensity which is just audible, called the threshold of audibility, has been
determined to be 10-12 W/m2 , and the intensity that corresponds to the sensation of
pain in the human ear is approximately 10 W/m2.

6.2.3 Characteristics of Sound

1. LOUDNESS
is a measure of the intensity of sound and is expressed in decibels (dB). It is a
quantity called the sound intensity level (IL).

6.2.3 Characteristics of Sound

2. PITCH

 is the frequency of sound wave perceived by the human ear. A high-pitched sound
means that it has a high frequency. The female voice is slightly higher pitched than the
male voice.

6.3 Acoustical Concerns in Architecture

6.3.2 Noise Control
This involves the following activities:
the control of air-borne noise through the insulation of sound or the shutting-out of
unwanted sounds from the outside. This requires a study of the sound insulating values
of walls, partitions, doors and windows and a study of the ventilating systems to provide
a basis for the reduction of the transfer of unwanted sound from one room to another;
the control of structure-borne noises through the isolation of machines from the rooms
or the buildings structure.

6.4 Principal Acoustical Defects of Rooms

a) Prolonged Reverberation
long reverberation time (RT) due to large amounts of highly reflective surfaces and/or
to large volume of space which will take considerable time for reflected sound to die out.
Effect of prolonged reverberation is blurring which is harmful to both speech and music.
Reverberation time is influenced by:
Volume of the room
Sound absorbing qualities of the rooms surfaces
Number of people and furniture in the room

b) Echo
distinct reflection of original sound which results when the path of reflected
sound is 20 m (65 ft) or more than the path of direct sound. If the difference
is less than 20 m, the reflected sound will reinforce the direct sound which is
desirable. It is recommended that the surfaces of the front part of an
auditorium must be highly reflective to reinforce direct sound and throw it to
the rear of the room. On the other hand, the rear must be highly absorptive
so the delayed direct sound will the absorbed and not be reflected to the
front

6.4 Principal Acoustical Defects of Room

c) Resonance is the reinforcement of certain sound frequencies due to sympathetic
vibrations. This is especially the case in enclosed rooms with highly reflective surfaces.
The effect would be to emphasize certain frequencies at the expense of others, which is
undesirable for balance desired in rooms intended for music.

d) Flutter Echo a rapid but repetitive succession of sounds caused by highly

reflective parallel surfaces (wall to wall, or ceiling to floor).

e) Undue Focusing of Sound is caused by concave surfaces which causes

sound to converge at certain points with resulting loss of energy in other
parts of the room

6.5 GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT ACOUSTICAL TERMS

absorption coefficient the fraction of the incident sound energy absorbed by a
surface.

anechoic chamber a sealed room in which all the surfaces are designed to
completely absorb all sound produced in the room.

attenuation a reduction in sound level. Sound attenuation in air-conditioning is

specified in terms of dB per meter.

background noise ambient noise

break-in noise transfer of noise from a space surrounding the duct into the duct
through duct walls.

break-out noise transfer of noise from the interior of a duct through duct walls into
a space outside the duct.

dead room a room containing an unusually large amount of sound absorption..

decibel (dB) a unit of measurement for sound pressure level, sound intensity level
or sound power level

6.5 GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT ACOUSTICAL TERMS

diffraction a change in the direction of propagation of sound as a result of bending
caused by a barrier in the path of a sound wave.

diffuse sound (field) a sound field in which the sound comes in equal intensity
from all directions.

direct sound the sound that arrives at a receiver along a direct line from
the source without reflection from any surface.

echo a sound that has been reflected with sufficient time delay.
environmental noise exterior background noise in a neighborhood (ie. traffic,
aircraft).

fidelity faithful reproduction of a sound source.

flutter echo a rapid but repetitive succession of sound from a sound source usually
occurring as a result of multiple reflections in a space with hard, flat and parallel walls.

frequency the number of full cycles per second measured

6.5 GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT ACOUSTICAL TERMS

impact noise noise caused by the collision of two objects.
infrasonic a sound that is below the human audible frequency, below 20 Hz.
insulation see isolation
intermittent sound a sound which is discontinuous or fluctuates to such an extent
that at times its sound pressure level falls below a measurable level .

inverse square law a law which states that the sound intensity in a free field varies
inversely with the square of the distance from the source.

isolation a lack of acoustical connection.

leak a small opening in a barrier that allows airborne sound to pass through.
live room a room containing an unusually small amount of sound absorption.

6.5 GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT ACOUSTICAL TERMS

loudness an auditory sensation that depends on sound pressure level and the
frequency of sound.

masking the increase in the threshold of audibility of a sound that is required so that
the sound can be heard in the presence of another sound.

noise isolation class (NIC) a single number rating derived from the measured
value of noise reduction between two rooms.

noise reduction (NR) the reduction in sound pressure level of noise.

noise reduction coefficient (NRC) a single number rating derived from
measured values of sound absorption coefficients of a material at 250, 500, 1000 and
2000 Hz.

outdoor-indoor transmission class (OITC) a weighted single number rating of

the sound reduction effectiveness of a partition that separates an indoor space from the
outside.

pitch

a listeners perception of the frequency of a pure tone.

6.5 GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT ACOUSTICAL TERMS

reflection coefficient a measure of the sound reflective property of a surface.

resonance the relatively large amplitude of vibration produced when the frequency
of the source of sound is equal to the natural frequency of a room.

reverberant sound field a sound field created by repeated reflections of sound

from the boundaries in an enclosed space .

reverberation the continuation of sound in an enclosed space after the initial

source has been terminated.

reverberation time (RT) the time it takes for sound intensity to decay by 1
millionth of its steady state value after the sound source has been terminated.

sabin a unit of measure of sound absorption.

scattering an irregular diffraction of sound in many direction
6.5 GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT ACOUSTICAL TERMS
sound insulation the ability of a barrier to prevent sound from reaching a receiver.
sound intensity (SI) the average rate of sound energy flow through a unit area in a
given direction.

sound intensity level (SIL) a quantity expressed in decibels of airborne sound.

sound lock a small space that works as a buffer between a source room and a
receiving room.

sound pressure fluctuating pressure of sound superimposed on the static air

pressure.

sound pressure level see sound intensity level

sound transmission class (STC) a single number rating of the sound insulation
rating of a partition.

structure-borne sound sound propagated through a solid structure.

6.5 GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT ACOUSTICAL TERMS

 transmission coefficient the ratio of transmitted sound energy to incident sound

energy

transmission loss (TL) is the measure of sound insulation of a partition.

wavelength distance between two adjacent compressions or rarefactions in a
sound wave.

white noise a noise whose energy is uniform over a wide range of frequencies. This
is analogous to the term white light, which consists of almost equal amount of light of
different wavelength (colors). A white noise sounds hissy.

Please help me God, I feel so alone

I'm just a kid, I can't take it on my own
I've cried so many tears, yeah, writing this song
Trying to fit in. Where do I belong?
I wake up every day, don't wanna leave my home
My mamma's askin' me why I'm always alone
Too scared to say, too scared to holler
I'm walking to school with sweat around my collar
I'm just a kid, I don't want no stress
My nerves are bad, my life's a mess
The names you call me, they hurt real bad
I want to tell my Mom
She's havin' trouble with my Dad
I feel so trapped, there's nowhere to turn
Come to school
Don't wanna fight I wanna learn
So please mister Bully
Tell me what I've done
You know I have no Dad
I'm livin' with my Mom
'Cause I'm hopeful, yes, I am
Hopeful for today
Take this music and use it
Let it take you away
And be hopeful, hopeful
And He'll make a way
I know it ain't easy but that's okay
Just be hopeful
Why do you trip at the colour of my skin
And whether I'm fat or whether I'm thin
You call me loser, you call me a fool
I ain't got a choice, I gotta go to school
I wish I had an angel to stick by my side
I'm shaking with fear, I'm so scared inside
Doesn't really matter if I ain't got the looks
Why do you always hurt me and destroy my books?

'Cause I'm hopeful, yes, I am

Hopeful for today
Take this music and use it
Let it take you away
And be hopeful, hopeful
And He'll make a way
I know it ain't easy but that's okay
Just be hopeful
I give you all my money every single day
I didn't ask to be born but now I have to pay
I ain't got no food, you take all I have
When I give it to you, you search through my bags
I wrote this song for you to see
We could've been friends, yeah you and me
Mister bully, take a moment please
Every single day you bring me to my knees
'Cause I'm hopeful, yes, I am
Hopeful for today
Take this music and use it
Let it take you away
And be hopeful, hopeful
And He'll make a way
I know it ain't easy but that's okay
'Cause I'm hopeful, yes I am,
Hopeful for today (Hopeful for today)
Take this music and use it (Bars and Melody!)
Let it take you away (Take you away)
And be hopeful, hopeful (Yeah)
And he'll make a way
I know it ain't easy but that's okay
Just be hopeful
What I wear is all I have
We lost our home, I'm livin' from a bag
Yo mister bully, help me please
I'm flesh and blood, accept me please

Wohoo
Have you ever seen a pretty girl walk back
with the light brown hair in a GREEN EYES ...
But you can't say hi because you're too shy
So she got away (got away)
Then you spend the next time TO find her
Make a GLOBE HAVE chance to INCOUNTER
Just right there but you still don't say a thing
Now she's leaving
So man up, man up, man up
She's right there
Be a man and don't be scared
Or she's LEAN UP3X.SOMEONE ELSE
So come on, come on, come on
Do what you can
Before she leaves, she's standing there
You might not get another chance
So before she leaves
Tell her that she's one in a million
Tell her that you can't stop staring
Tell her that no matter how hard you try you just can't pass her by
Tell her that she's more than worth it
Tell her that her smile is perfect
And you wouldn't dream of giving up
'Cause she's one in a billion
'Cause she's one in a billion
'Cause she's one in a billion

'Cause she's one in a billion

Have you ever spend an hour in the mirror
Rehearsing what to do when you see her
But the moment comes and you just freeze yeah
So you wait a little longer around the corner
Scared, so scared that she don't want ya
But you never ever know
You never ever show
So go-ooo
So man up, man up, man up
She's right there
Be a man and don't be scared
Cause you might not get another chance
So before she leaves
Tell her that she's one in a million
Tell her that you can't stop staring
Tell her that no matter how hard you try you just can't pass her by
Tell her that she's more than worth it
Tell her that her smile is perfect
And you wouldn't dream of giving up
'Cause she's one in a billion
'Cause she's one in a billion
'Cause she's one in a billion
'Cause she's one in a billion

You're my shining star, I'll search from near to far and all day long you were right here my
baby.
[Leondre:]
Yo the girls from every nation, your love's not a word, it's a motivation.
We're miles apart, it breaks my heart.
This love's a journey about to start. In the night you shine so bright, darkness falls you give
me light.
I feel you close but you're so far, b-baby girl you're like a star.
When we speak there are tears in my eyes, when I'm lonely I look to the skies, like three
men who were so wise, but my love I see your eyes.
We're miles away, yeah, so far, twinkle twinkle my little star, I feel you near, but you're so
far, baby girl you're a shining star.
[Charlie:]
You're my shining star, I'll search from near to far and all day long you were right here my
baby.
You're my super star, and girl you own my heart, and when we're worlds apart, I'll be right
here baby.
Oh oh ow way oh
Oh oh ow way oh
Oh oh ow way oh you're my shining star.

[Leondre:]
Ti amo my Italian bambino, I feel in love with ya when I first seen yo.
Romanian girls te iubesc. You know printesa, you are the best.
Kocham cie, my polish queen, I really like girls that have never been seen.
Eu te amo I say on my knees, for all of my princesses, if your portuguese.
Your killing me softly with all your words, I'm going crazy my visions blurred.
To all my frenchies I say je t'aime. I love your voice, I wanna hear it again.
I know you're in a land so far, b-baby girl, you're like a star.
German girls ich liebe dich, to be with you is my only wish.
[Charlie:]
You're my shining star, I'll search from near to far and all day long you were right here my
baby.
You're my super star, and girl you own my heart, and when we're worlds apart, I'll be right
here baby.
Oh oh ow way oh
Oh oh ow way oh
Oh oh ow way oh you're my shining star.
There's no place in the world to far, I'll always hold you here in my heart.
'Cause you're my light girl, you're mine, shining star
You're my shining star, I search from near to far and all day long you were right here my
baby.
You're my super star, and girl you own my heart, and when we're worlds apart, I'll be right
here baby.
Oh oh ow way oh
Oh oh ow way oh
Oh oh ow way oh you're my shining star.
[Charlie - singing:]
Shine your light, it'll be okay, baby,
Shine your light, it'll be okay, baby,
Shine your light, it'll be okay, baby.
[Charlie:]
You're my shining star.
[Leondre:]
Shine your light, it'll be okay, baby,
Shine your light, it'll be okay, baby,
Shine your light, it'll be okay, baby.
[Charlie:]
You're my shining star.