Question

What is the measure of how loud or soft a sound is called?

Answer 1

Hint: The loudness of sound is determined by the function of the intensity of the sound wave. The loudness of a sound relates the intensity of the sound wave of any given sound to the intensity of the sound wave at the threshold of hearing.

Complete step by step solution:
- The loudness of Sound refers to how loud or soft a sound seems to a listener. The loudness of sound is determined by the help intensity of the sound waves. The intensity of a sound wave is a measure of the amount of energy associated with a sound wave.

- The intensity of a sound wave is determined by two factors: the amplitude of the sound wave and how far the wave has travelled from the source of the sound.

- Amplitude is the measure of the size of a sound wave. The energy that caused the wave to start will determine its value. Waves with a larger amplitude produce louder sounds because they have more energy and intensity.

- The energy associated with sound waves spreads out further away from the source as they travel. The region that the wave covers grows as the wave's separation from its origin or source does, distributing the same amount of energy over a bigger area. The sound gradually loses its ferocity and volume. This is the reason why even a strong sound becomes less audible the further we get from its source.

- The intensity of sound, commonly known as the power of sound waves, is measured in decibels. Compared to other measuring scales, decibels (dB) are unique. While many standard measuring devices and scales are linear, the decibel scale is logarithmic. If a sound is 80 decibels and we increase it by 10, according to the logarithmic decibel scale, the sound will be 10 times more strong and we will perceive it twice as loud. Decibels are a unit used to measure how loud a sound is.

Hence, loudness and intensity of sound wave determines how loud or soft is the sound.

Note: The subjective evaluation of sound pressure is called loudness. The perceived loudness of sound follows a logarithmic function rather than being proportional to energy intensity. The relative loudness of sounds is expressed using a decibel unit in a range from zero to around 100 dB, which is close to the volume that most people find uncomfortable to hear.