Question

One physics professor talking produces a sound intensity level of 53 dB. What is the intensity level if two professors are talking simultaneously?

a) 53 dB
b) 56 dB
c) 59 dB
d) 63 dB

Answer 1

The combined sound intensity level of two physics professors talking simultaneously, with each originally producing 53 dB, would be 56 dB due to the logarithmic nature of the decibel scale.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question is about calculating the combined sound intensity level when two physics professors are talking simultaneously, given that one professor talking produces a sound intensity level of 53 dB. To find the resulting sound intensity level when two sources of identical sound intensities are combined, we add 3 dB to the original sound level. This stems from the logarithmic nature of the decibel scale. Since the intensity doubles, the increase in the sound intensity level is about 3 dB, which means the resulting sound intensity level would be 56 dB, option (b).