Jahiem Benjamin PD

Date: Dec, 10, 2021 SBA #: 7 Skill: PD Topic: Sensitivity of the Human Ear

Problem Statement: Your friend suggests that the human ear is most sensitive to sound at a
frequency of about 3500Hz, that is, for the same amplitude; it sounds louder than other
frequencies. Design an experiment to investigate this assertion. 
Theory/Research: Sound is produced by pressure waves travelling in materials that are solid,
liquid or gas. Sound waves enter the outer ear and travel through a narrow passageway called
the ear canal, which leads to the eardrum. The waves are also known as frequency which is
defined as the number of waves that pass a fixed place in a given amount of time. It can be
calculated using the formula; {F} frequency= 1/T [period]. Frequency is measured in Hertz
[Hz].
Sound is made of pressure waves that oscillate, or alternate, between compressing and
stretching the medium, or matter, they travel through (in our case, air) at a certain frequency,
or rate. The higher the frequency at which a sound wave oscillates, the higher the resulting
sound’s pitch you hear when that wave hits your eardrums. Your brain’s perception of pitch
relies on how many of these compression changes your eardrum senses per second. The wave
that creates the sound of a standard whistle oscillates at a relatively high frequency, so the
resulting sound is very high-pitched. The rumbling of a truck engine is produced by low-
frequency oscillation, so we hear it as a very low-pitched sound.

Humans are born being able to hear a wide range of frequencies, but we certainly can’t hear
everything, especially sounds on the higher end of the frequency spectrum! Consider dog
whistles, which canines can hear but we can’t. That’s because dogs’ ears have evolved to
detect such high-frequency sounds. Similarly, it has recently been discovered the elephants
communicate over long distances using super-low-frequency sound that we're also unable to
hear.

Hypothesis: Frequencies of 3500Hz is louder than other frequencies to the Human ear.
Aim: To investigate whether 3500Hz is louder than other sound to the human ear using a
human audio spectrum from 20-4000 Hz.

Apparatus/Materials:

• Laptop or mp3 player

• Speakers

• Human audio spectrum ranging from 20Hz- 4000Hz [HAS]

 • Mosquito sound file [MS]

• Several volunteers ranging of age younger and older than 25

• Paper

• Pencil

• Jack plug

Variables: 

Controlled: amplitude of sound waves, distance from speaker

Manipulating: Frequency of Sound
  Responding: perceived loudness of sound by volunteers
Procedure

• Set up your both laptops and mp3 player so the human audio spectrum and mosquito
sound file is ready.
• Have volunteer’s line-up 3.5m away from the speaker one at a time.
• Play the mosquito sound file at 3500Hz and the human audio spectrum starting from
500 Hz up to 4 kHz at the same time for them to hear
• Explain to the volunteer that he should raise his right hand once the human audio
spectrum got louder than the mosquito sound file.
• Record your results as you test observe each volunteer.

Diagram:
DIAGRAM SHOWING SETUP OF APPARATUS

Expected Results:
It is expected that the human ear will hear 3500Hz louder than other frequency due to the
sensitivity of the human ear being 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

TABLE SHOWING DATA COLLECTED FROM THE EXPERIMENT

Frequencies volunteers
HAS Hz MS Hz Thick Which
was louder
HAS MS
500 3500
1000 3500
1500 3500
2000 3500
2500 3500
3000 3500
3500 3500
4000 3500

Interpretation of results/Discussion:
Volunteers were set to listen to different frequencies at the same time, one being played at

3500 Hz constantly, they were then to identify which sound was louder. This was possible

because the ear is sensitive to sounds at 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Each volunteer is expected to hear

each frequency even louder as the frequency of the sound increase at constant volume, this is

because the human ear detect change in small sound very well.

  Precautions:

 All participants must be at least 12 feet away to prevent ear drums being burst.

 Do the experiment in a quiet neighbour hood

 Don’t pass 4 kHz on the device.

Limitations:
noisy weather
Rainy weather
Echo’s