Psychology 2015A/B Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Musical Tone, Fundamental Frequency, Sine Wave

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2015A/B
• Professor: Patrick Brown

Document Summary

Physical definition pressure changes in the air. Perceptual definition the experience we have when we hear. Condensation is when the diaphragm of the speaker pushes the air causing the molecules to move closer together. Rarefraction is when the diaphragm moves back in and causes the air molecules to move back apart. The pattern of air molecules created by these is the sound wave. The molecules move back and forth but stay at about the same place. A pure tone occurs when the changes in air pressure form a pattern described by the mathematical function called a sine wave. The vibrations can be described by its frequency the number of cycles per second, and its amplitude the size of the pressure changes. Sound frequency is measured in hz, where 1 hz is 1 cycle per second. We can perceive frequencies from 20 20000 hz. Amplitude is the difference in pressure between the high and low peaks of the sound.