PSYC 2390 Chapter : Sound Chapter

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2390
• Professor: Lana Trick

Document Summary

Physical definition of sound- pressure changes in the air or other medium. Perceptual- the experience we have when we hear. A sound stimulus occurs when the movements or vibrations of an object cause pressure changes in the medium around it. Example speakers when the diaphragm goes out it pushes air together called condensation, which causes a density increase, when it moves back in the air fills the extra space called refraction, causes density decrease. This pattern of alternate pressure causes a sound wave, which travels at 340m/s in air and. Pure tones occur when pressure changes in the air happen in a mathematical pattern called a sine wave, tuning forks use pure tones, they are simple, but rare in the environment. Amplitude is the height of the wave and it represents the loudness of the sound, which is measured in decibels (db), they use a logarithmic scale (see pgs 262-63 for equations and graphs)