Sound Design Sound 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which phenomenon causes a sound wave to bend around obstacles and spread into regions behind them?
- Refraction
- Diffraction (Correct answer)
- Reflection
- Absorption
Correct answer: Diffraction
Diffraction is the bending and spreading of waves around obstacles or through openings, and it explains why you can hear sound even when not in a direct line of sight.
Question 2: What term describes the number of complete wave cycles that pass a fixed point per second?
- Amplitude
- Wavelength
- Frequency (Correct answer)
- Phase
Correct answer: Frequency
Frequency, measured in hertz (Hz), is the number of complete oscillations or wave cycles per second.
Question 3: When two sound waves of slightly different frequencies combine, the resulting periodic variation in loudness is called:
- Chorus
- Flanging
- Beating (Correct answer)
- Tremolo
Correct answer: Beating
Beating occurs when two frequencies close together interfere, creating a periodic rise and fall in amplitude at a rate equal to the difference between the two frequencies.
Question 4: At approximately what temperature does the speed of sound in air equal 343 meters per second?
- 0°C
- 20°C (Correct answer)
- 37°C
- 100°C
Correct answer: 20°C
At 20°C (68°F), sound travels through air at approximately 343 m/s; temperature increases raise this speed slightly.
Question 5: Which type of wave requires a medium to propagate and cannot travel through a vacuum?
- Electromagnetic wave
- Light wave
- Sound wave (Correct answer)
- Radio wave
Correct answer: Sound wave
Sound is a mechanical wave that requires a physical medium (solid, liquid, or gas) to transmit its energy, unlike electromagnetic waves.
Question 6: The inverse relationship between a sound wave's frequency and its wavelength (given constant speed) means that:
- Higher frequency produces a longer wavelength
- Lower frequency produces a shorter wavelength
- Higher frequency produces a shorter wavelength (Correct answer)
- Frequency and wavelength are independent
Correct answer: Higher frequency produces a shorter wavelength
Since speed = frequency × wavelength, when speed is constant a higher frequency must correspond to a shorter wavelength.
Question 7: What is the term for the distance between two consecutive points on a wave that are in phase, such as crest to crest?
- Amplitude
- Period
- Wavelength (Correct answer)
- Frequency
Correct answer: Wavelength
Wavelength is the spatial distance between two successive in-phase points on a wave, commonly measured crest to crest or trough to trough.
Sound Design Sound 2
Which phenomenon causes a sound wave to bend around obstacles and spread into regions behind them?