Teaching Concepts of Acoustical Waves in Air - Part 2

Authors

  • William John Gastmeier HGC Engineering

Abstract

This paper has been written to build on Part 1 of this series which was presented at the 2022 Acoustics week in Canada and similar to Part 1 contains materials extracted from 30 years of teaching to Architects at the University of Waterloo and Dalhousie University in Halifax. The purpose of this session is to provide teachers with practical demonstrations which can be used to enhance learning. I have always had a “hands on” teaching philosophy that a teacher engage multiple senses to be effective at instilling knowledge, and what is better for architects and acousticians than using sight and sound as well as written materials. Part 1 dealt primarily with sound propagation in air and the concepts of longitudinal wave motion, speed, frequency and wavelength and related effects which relate to what we perceive as pitch. Part 2 expands on those concepts by discussing superposition and introducing the definition and measurement of sound pressure, decibels and the decibel scale and how to manage decibels, all of which we perceive as loudness. If time permits, we will examine the hearing mechanism to discern how we physically perceive pitch and loudness.

Additional Files

Published

2023-10-09

How to Cite

1.
Gastmeier WJ. Teaching Concepts of Acoustical Waves in Air - Part 2. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2023 Oct. 9 [cited 2024 Oct. 7];51(3):92-3. Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/4125

Issue

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada