Page |1

Topic 1: Introduction to the study of acoustics nature of sound, basic terminology frequency, pitch, tone, sound
pressure, sound intensity, decibel scale, loudness, threshold of audibility and pain, masking, sound and distance
inverse square law.

1.1 Introduction:
Acoustics is a branch of physics that study the sound, acoustics concerned with the production, control, transmission,
reception, and effects of sound.
The study of acoustics has been fundamental to many developments in the arts, science, technology, music,
biology, etc

A science that deals with the production, control, transmission, reception, and effects of sound.
Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Acoustics encompasses the realm of sound transmission through solids and fluids. Sound may be described as the
passage of pressure fluctuations through an elastic medium as the result of a vibrational impetus imparted to that
medium. Acoustics has been the subject of many years of study, dating as far back as prehistoric times when
ancient archers discovered their bowstrings made pleasant sounds, shepherds fashioned rudimentary flutes from
reeds and music gradually evolved as an expression of human emotions.
Acoustics involves many areas. Knowledge in acoustics is important for many professional engineers and architects,
but also for professionals from other faculties, such as medical doctors, psychologists, biologists, oceanographers,
media professionals and so forth.
Knowledge in acoustics is essential to promote the creation of environments, both indoors and outdoors, involving
rooms with good listening conditions for speakers, musicians and listeners and also living environments and working
areas which are reasonably free from harmful and/or intruding noise and vibrations and with acoustic comfort. In
other words; acoustics is a discipline of great importance for a sustainable development.
Sound is an important part of human life and culture. In class rooms, meeting rooms, cinemas, theatres, concert halls,
etc. the design has to be such that it is easy to speak and comfortable to listen with a high degree of intelligibility.
Also these parts of acoustics belong to the professional area of a specialist in sound and vibration.

Architectural acoustics (also known as room acoustics and building acoustics) is the science and engineering of
achieving a good sound within a building and is a branch of acoustical engineering. The first application of modern
scientific methods to architectural acoustics was carried out by Wallace Sabine in the Fogg Museum lecture room
who then applied his new found knowledge to the design of Symphony Hall, Boston.
Architectural acoustics can be about achieving good speech intelligibility in a theatre, restaurant or railway station,
enhancing the quality of music in a concert hall or recording studio, or suppressing noise to make offices and homes
more productive and pleasant places to work and live in. Architectural acoustic design is usually done by acoustic
consultants.

1.2 Acoustics: Sound

n Sound is a mechanical wave and therefore requires a medium in which it can travel.
n Acoustics is classically divided into sound and vibration.
n Sound refers to waveforms traveling through a fluid medium such as air
n Vibration describes energy transmitted through denser materials such as wood, steel, stone, dirt,
drywall or anything besides a fluid.
n It is not heard as much as felt, due to its extremely low frequency, which is below the range of most
human hearing.
Sound is a mechanical wave that results from the back and forth vibration of the particles of the medium through
which the sound wave is moving. If a sound wave is moving from left to right through air, then particles of air will be
displaced both rightward and leftward as the energy of the sound wave passes through it. The motion of the
particles is parallel (and anti-parallel) to the direction of the energy transport. This is what characterizes sound waves
in air as longitudinal waves.

09 ARC 6.3- BUILDING SERVICES IV FEB- MAY 2015 AR. MANISHA NUPUR, DSSA, BANGALORE
 Page |2

1.3 Sound as wave: Characteristic of sound wave or Nature of sound wave

n Each Sound wave has unique pattern

n Frequency
n Wavelength
n Amplitude

09 ARC 6.3- BUILDING SERVICES IV FEB- MAY 2015 AR. MANISHA NUPUR, DSSA, BANGALORE
 Page |3

1.3.1 Terminology
1. A full circuit by a displaced particle is known as cycle.
2. And the time required to complete one cycle is called as period.
3. The number of cyclical variations per unit time is called as frequency. Frequency is generally expressed in cycles
per second and is denoted by Hertz (Hz)
n Pitch of the sound
n Musical notes: there are 12 notes on a staff from A to G
n Bass : Low frequency 0 to 300 Hz
n Mid range : voice 300 to 6,000 Hz
n Treble: High frequency, above middle C note, 6,000 to 20,000 Hz.
n Spectrum of frequency
4. The wavelength of sound is the distance between analogous points of two successive waves.
5. The maximum displacement of the vibrating particle of the given medium from the mean position is defined as
the Amplitude of the wave. The maximum displacement of a vibrating particle of the medium from its mean position
is called Amplitude. Here in the sound wave, amplitude represents the loudness of the sound.

The maximum height of the wave is called its Amplitude. If the sound intensity is more, then the amplitude of the
sound wave is more.
n Volume control
n Loudness
n Strength of the wave ( measured in db decibels)
n Energy of the wave

09 ARC 6.3- BUILDING SERVICES IV FEB- MAY 2015 AR. MANISHA NUPUR, DSSA, BANGALORE
 Page |4

6. Pitch and tone

Pitch is a key auditory attribute of sound. It is a perceived fundamental frequency of sound. The human auditory
system cannot perceive and differentiate between frequencies of notes in some given circumstances. Pitch is
subjective in that the perceived tones to a listener are assigned to a musical scales relative positions based mainly
on frequency of vibration. The frequency of the tones determines the just-noticeable difference (jnd), which is the
threshold of change perception.
On the other hand tone represents the quality of sound, that which distinguishes it and makes it recognizable by its
constant pitch. A tones pitch defines its depth (or height) in relation to the complete series of tones that can be
heard by the ear. This is why two instruments sound differently even if the pitch is the same, for instance a violin and a
flute playing the same pitch will sound differently. The way a listener evaluates frequency also represents pitch of a
tone. Obviously a higher pitch results from a higher frequency and a lower frequency gives a lower pitch.

In music terms, pitch, as opposed to tone, is the actual value of the note sung while tone would be the thickness, or
how full or shrill the note is. So, in musical terms, a natural vocal production should first be established before a singer
can embark on pitch training. When a natural vocal production is in place, then singing on pitch comes off easily.
Still defining musical terms, tone is the timbre or quality of a note. Its important to know that in singing, a singer can
be perfect on pitch but horrible with tone. This is because there are a lot of factors that influence tone, for instance a
singers physical condition, breath support, technique and many more.
Summary
1.Pitch is a perceived fundamental frequency of sound while tone is the quality of sound.
2. In the field of music, pitch is the actual value of a tone while tone is the thickness of the note.
3. In music, pitch can be perfect while tone cannot be perfect. .

7. Speed of sound
n Velocity of a wave= Frequency (f) times the wavelength (l)
n V=fl
n The speed of propagation of sound in dry air at a temperature of 0 C (32 F) is 331.6 m/sec (1088 ft/sec). If
the temperature is increased, the speed of sound increases; thus, at 20 C (68 F), the velocity of sound is 344
m/sec (1129 ft/sec)
n Sound travels at 1130 feet per second at normal room temperature.
n Light travels at 299,792,458 meters per second, which is roughly 974,325,489 feet per second (974 million feet
per second!!)

8. Resonance of sound
Any oscillating object has a natural frequency, which is the frequency an oscillating object tends to settle into if it
is not disturbed.
The phenomenon in which a relatively small, repeatedly applied force causes the amplitude of an oscillating
system to become very large is called resonance

9. Beats
The pulse or pattern of regular accents, of a musical piece can be broken into individual pulses, or beats
A fractional symbol in which the numerator specifies the number of beats per bar, and the denominator specifies
the relative note value assigned to one beat.

10. Doppler Effect

The frequency of the perceived wave is changed by the motion of the source
Increasing Frequency when the source approaches the sensor
Decreasing Frequency when the source increases the distance from the sensor

09 ARC 6.3- BUILDING SERVICES IV FEB- MAY 2015 AR. MANISHA NUPUR, DSSA, BANGALORE
 Page |5

11. Sound medium

A medium is a material that sound, a form of energy, need to transfer.
Speed of sound
n Solid : Fast speed
n Liquid : Medium speed
n Gas : Slow Speed
n Vacuum : No Sound

12. Sound pressure

Sound travels in an elastic medium such as air, water, earth etc. an elastic medium returns to its normal state once a
force is removed. Pressure is a force per unit area. Sound energy progresses rapidly, producing extremely small
changes in atmospheric pressure, and travel great distances.
This difference in a given medium between the local pressure and the pressure in the sound wave is termed as Sound
Pressure.

13. Sound intensity

Sound intensity or acoustic intensity is defined as the sound power per unit area. The usual context is the noise
measurement of sound intensity in the air at a listener's location as a sound energy quantity.
Sound intensity is not the same physical quantity as sound pressure. Hearing is directly sensitive to sound pressure
which is related to sound intensity. In consumer audio electronics, the level differences are called "intensity"
differences, but sound intensity is a specifically defined quantity and cannot be sensed by a simple microphone.

14. Sound intensity level

Sound intensity level or acoustic intensity level is a logarithmic measure of the sound intensity (measured in W/m2), in

comparison to a reference level. The measure of a ratio of two sound intensities is

Where L1- Sound intensity level (dB)
I 1- Sound Intensity (W/m^2)
I 0- Reference sound Intensity (10^ -2, W/m^2)
The sound intensity level is given the letter "LI" and is measured in "dB". The decibel is a dimensionless quantity.

1.5 Summary

n Sounds are created by Moving molecule in the medium ( Solid, Liquid and Gases)
n Sounds are measured by Frequency, Wavelength, Speed, and Amplitude.
n Sounds can combine by interference
n Sounds can be changed by the Acoustics of the Area or the speed of the source (Doppler Effect)
n Sounds are used in many devices.
n Sound is reflected, transmitted, or absorbed by the materials it encounters.
n Soft surfaces, such as textiles, and batt insulation, tend to absorb sound waves, preventing them from further
motion.
n Hard surfaces, such as ceramic tile, gypsum board, or wood, tend to reflect sound waves, causing echo.
Reverberation is the term used to describe sound waves that are reflected off of surfaces.
n Dense, massive, materials, such as concrete or brick, tend to transmit sound waves through the material.
n High frequency sound waves (think of a high whistle) are not capable of being transmitted through massive,
heavy, material.
n Low frequency sound waves (bass) are transmitted through massive materials.

1.6 Decibel Scale

Humans are equipped with very sensitive ears capable of detecting sound waves of extremely low intensity. The
faintest sound that the typical human ear can detect has an intensity of 1*10-12 W/m2. This intensity corresponds to a

09 ARC 6.3- BUILDING SERVICES IV FEB- MAY 2015 AR. MANISHA NUPUR, DSSA, BANGALORE
 Page |6

pressure wave in which a compression of the particles of the medium increases the air pressure in that compression
region by a mere 0.3 billionth of an atmosphere. A sound with an intensity of 1*10-12 W/m2 corresponds to a sound
that will displace particles of air by a mere one-billionth of a centimeter. The human ear can detect such a sound.
WOW! This faintest sound that a human ear can detect is known as the threshold of hearing (TOH). The most intense
sound that the ear can safely detect without suffering any physical damage is more than one billion times more
intense than the threshold of hearing.
Since the range of intensities that the human ear can detect is so large, the scale that is frequently used by physicists
to measure intensity is a scale based on powers of 10. This type of scale is sometimes referred to as a logarithmic
scale. The scale for measuring intensity is the decibel scale. The threshold of hearing is assigned a sound level of 0
decibels (abbreviated 0 dB); this sound corresponds to an intensity of 1*10-12 W/m2. A sound that is 10 times more
intense (1*10-11 W/m2) is assigned a sound level of 10 dB. A sound that is 10*10 or 100 times more intense (1*10-
10 W/m2) is assigned a sound level of 20 db. A sound that is 10*10*10 or 1000 times more intense (1*10-9 W/m2) is

assigned a sound level of 30 db. A sound that is 10*10*10*10 or 10000 times more intense (1*10-8 W/m2) is assigned a
sound level of 40 db. Observe that this scale is based on powers of 10. If one sound is 10x times more intense than
another sound, then it has a sound level that is 10*x more decibels than the less intense sound.
The perception of sound in any organism is limited to a certain range of frequencies. For humans, hearing is normally
limited to frequencies between about 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (20 kHz), although these limits are not definite. The upper
limit generally decreases with age. Other species have a different range of hearing. For example, dogs can perceive
vibrations higher than 20 kHz, but are deaf to anything below 40 Hz.

Many animals hear a much wider range of frequencies than human beings do.
For example, dog whistles vibrate at a higher frequency than the human ear can detect, while evidence suggests
that dolphins and whales communicate at frequencies beyond human hearing (ultrasound).
Frequency is measured in hertz, or the number of sound waves a vibrating object gives off per second. The more the
object vibrates, the higher the frequency and the higher the pitch of the resulting sound.

09 ARC 6.3- BUILDING SERVICES IV FEB- MAY 2015 AR. MANISHA NUPUR, DSSA, BANGALORE
 Page |7

Decibel levels
n 0 the softest sound a person can hear with normal n 130dB - Jack Hammer (at 5ft)
hearing n 120dB - Rock Concert / Pain threshold
n 10 normal breathing n 110dB - Riveter or a Heavy Truck at 50ft
n 20 whispering at 5 feet n 90dB - Heavy Traffic (at 5ft)
n 30 soft whisper n 70dB - Department Store or a Noisy
n 50 rainfall Office
n 60 normal conversation n 50dB - Light Traffic
n 110 shouting in ear n 30dB - Quiet Auditorium
n 120 thunder n 20dB - Faint Whisper (at 5ft)
n The human ear's response to sound level is n 10dB - Soundproof room / anechoic
roughly logarithmic (based on powers of 10), and chamber
the dB scale reflects that fact.
n An increase of 3dB doubles the sound intensity
but a 10dB increase is required before a sound is
perceived to be twice as loud.
n Therefore a small increase in decibels represents
a large increase in intensity.
n For example - 10dB is 10 times more intense than
1dB, while 20dB is 100 times more intense than
1dB.
n The sound intensity multiplies by 10 with every
10dB increase
09 ARC 6.3
BUILDING SERVICES IV 17

1.7 Sound and distance

Sound waves from a point source outdoors with no obstruction are virtually spherical and expand outward from the
source.
In Physics an inverse square law is any physical law stating that a specified physical quantity or intensity is inversely
proportion to square of the distance from source of physical quantity.

Sound waves from a point source outdoors with no obstruction are virtually spherical and expand outward from the
source.
Power is a basic quantity of energy flow.
Sound Intensity is power per unit area. This relationship can be expressed as:
I = W/Area
I is sound intensity, W is sound power.
The inverse square law for sound is
L1/L2= (d2/d1) ^2

09 ARC 6.3- BUILDING SERVICES IV FEB- MAY 2015 AR. MANISHA NUPUR, DSSA, BANGALORE
 Page |8

09 ARC 6.3- BUILDING SERVICES IV FEB- MAY 2015 AR. MANISHA NUPUR, DSSA, BANGALORE
 Page |9

References:

http://www-gateway.vpr.drexel.edu/files/bioengg_Instrumentation/site/IMPORTANCE.html
http://www.ta.chalmers.se/education.php?page=mst_role
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectural_acoustics
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/sound-frequency-wavelength-d_56.html
http://physics.tutorvista.com/waves/amplitude-of-a-wave.html
http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-tone-and-pitch/
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/Lesson-2/Intensity-and-the-Decibel-Scale
Architectural Acoustics work book- David Egan, Charles. W . Tilley
Architectural Acoustics- M. David Egan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse-square_law
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/acoustic/invsqs.html

09 ARC 6.3- BUILDING SERVICES IV FEB- MAY 2015 AR. MANISHA NUPUR, DSSA, BANGALORE