According the inverse square law, doubling the distance from the source of the sound, a speaker, for example, will drop the sound 6 db each time. If you were standing in the back of an auditorium, 32 feet away from a speaker not using any amplification, would you be able to hear a speaker clearly? Why or why not?

Question

Killian Waller

Chemistry

18 October, 17:14

According the inverse square law, doubling the distance from the source of the sound, a speaker, for example, will drop the sound 6 db each time. If you were standing in the back of an auditorium, 32 feet away from a speaker not using any amplification, would you be able to hear a speaker clearly? Why or why not?

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Answers (2)

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Deacon · Answer 1

Yes, I would be able to hear the speaker clearly because the supposedly dropping off of sound as the distance gets farther is counteracted by "reverberations" inside the auditorium.

Explanation:

According to the "Inverse Square Law," if the distance from the sound source is doubled, the intensity of the sound will diminish by 6 decibels. This is true if the situation is in a "free field," which means the sound has no reflection.

However, this is not the case in an "auditorium." An auditorium causes the "reverberation" of sound. This prolongs the resonance of the sound. So, this means that even if the sound drops off by a factor of 100 (20 decibels), due to reverberations, the height of the ceiling, the kind of wall and materials used in making the seats also affect the intensity of the sound waves. This is the reason why auditoriums are used as venues for concerts, presentations and the like where a large group of people serve as the audience.

Hugo Quinn · Answer 2

D) No; 60db is normal speech. In a auditorium any other noise might mask the speaker since you are only hearing 56db.