Question

Although 0 dB is often referred to as the lower threshold of human hearing, it is important to realize that the human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies of sound. In other words, a particular noise may sound louder or softer depending on the frequency of the sound wave being transmitted. Because of this variation, scientists have defined a unit of loudness, called a phon, to represent the intensity of sound waves with a frequency of 1000 Hz. A 60-phon sound is one that is perceived by the human ear to have the same loudness as a sound wave with an intensity of 60 dB and a frequency of 1000 Hz.

Required:
a. At approximately what frequency do most people perceive the least intense sounds? Answer numerically in hertz to two significant figures.
b. Normal conversation has a sound level of about 60 dB. How many times more intense must a 100-Hz sound be compared to a 1000-Hz sound to be perceived as equal to 60 phons of loudness?

Answer 1

20 Hz

15.8 times

Step-by-step explanation:

A

Although the range of frequency for any human's ear is usually said to be between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. And since the question asked for the least intense frequency, that has to be 20 Hz. Essentially the frequency most people perceive the least intense sound is 20 Hz.

B

A 100-Hz sound must be 10^1.2 times or 15.8 times more intense compared to a 1000-Hz sound to be perceived as equal to 60 phons of loudness