Question

consider an idealized bird (treated as a point source) that emits constant power. if you double your distance from the bird, by how much does the sound level change?

Answer 1

Doubling the distance from an idealized point source of constant power results in the sound intensity becoming one-fourth of the original, which translates to a decrease of about 6 dB in sound level.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question considers an idealized bird (treated as a point source) that emits constant power. We use the inverse square law to determine how sound intensity changes with distance. Doubling the distance from an idealized point source of constant power results in the sound intensity becoming one-fourth of the original, which translates to a decrease of about 6 dB in sound level. If you double your distance from the bird, the sound intensity becomes (1/2)² = 1/4 of the original intensity.

When sound intensity decreases, the sound level, measured in decibels (dB), also changes. A decrease in intensity by a factor of four equates to a reduction in sound level. Every time the intensity is halved, the sound level goes down by about 3 dB. Therefore, when the intensity is reduced to one-fourth, the sound level will decrease by roughly 6 dB.