Chapter 16: Q. 11 (page 450)

One physics professor talking produces a sound intensity level of 52 dB. It’s a frightening idea, but what would be the sound intensity level of 100 physics professors talking simultaneously?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The intensity level of 100 professors talking simultaneously is 70dB

Step by step solution

Step 1. Write the given information.

A professor is talking

The intensity of the sound is $β$ = 52dB

100 professors talk simultaneously.

Step 2. To determine the intensity of sound produced by 100 professors

The intensity of the sound is given by

$I = I_{o} \times 10^{β / 10 d B}$

Here, I_o is the threshold hearing of humans. The average value is 1X10^-12 W/m².

Substitute the known values in the above expression

localid="1649072838046" $I = (1 \times 10^{- 12}) \times 10^{52 d B / 10 d B} I = 1.5 \times 10^{- 7} W / m^{2}$

When 100 professors talk simultaneously, the intensity of the sound would become
$I = 100 \times (1.5 \times 10^{- 7} W / m^{2}) I = 1.5 \times 10^{- 5} W / m^{2}$

The intensity level is given by
$β = 10 d B \log_{10} (\frac{I}{I_{o}})$
substitute the known values
$β = 10 d B \log_{10} (\frac{1.5 \times 10^{- 5}}{1 \times 10^{- 12}}) β = 70 d B$

Therefore, the intensity level produced by 100 professors is 70 dB

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One physics professor talking produces a sound intensity level of 52 dB. It’s a frightening idea, but what would be the sound intensity level of 100 physics professors talking simultaneously?

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Step 1. Write the given information.

Step 2. To determine the intensity of sound produced by 100 professors

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