Sample questions for first acoustics quiz:

1. A rock hangs at the end of a string. It is swinging back and forth along a path 6 inches long, 3 times per second. When the rock is at the rightmost end of its path, you give it a shove to the left. How does its future motion differ?

2. The flute choir is arrriving for practice. Three early birds are already playing, producing a sound level of 84 dB. They are joined by six more flutists. What sound level do these nine flutists produce?

3. Suppose person A has a nice, mellow voice, and person B has a nasal , whiny voice. If both of them sing the same note (440 Hz, for example) into the computer, the analyses will look quite different. Describe the two spectra.

4. We have those two fancy generators in our classroom, and we can set them both to generate 400 Hz. Both generators displays will say 400.00, but how can we be sure they're generating signals of the same frequency? (Without using any more equipment)

5. If the sound level from a speaker that is 15 feet away from you is 82 dB, and you want it to be 90 dB, how close must you get to the speaker?

6. Your neighbor is having his house renovated, and you're trying to sleep in. One worker arrives and begins using his drill. You feel this is pretty noisy, but bearable. Two more guys arrive and begin working, and this sounds worse. You feel if there's that sort of increase in the noise again, you'll call the cops. If that's so, how many more workers can arrive and start working before you'll feel the need to call the cops?