Acoustics

 

​Outcome 1

 

For the first outcome of Acoustics I had to describe the physical properties of sound. The key points of this outcome from the module descriptor are:

 

• Properties of sound waves — frequency, wavelength, amplitude, velocity, phase, constructive and destructive interference, envelope and pressure.

• Propagation of sound waves — distance, humidity, temperature, atmospheric pressure, reflection, absorption, diffraction and refraction.

• Measurement of sound waves — frequency, sound intensity, acoustic power, sound pressure level, loudness and the decibel.

 

I passed this outcome by undergoing an assessment in which I was asked 10 multiple choice questions on the three topics below:

 

• Properties of sound waves.

• Propagation of sound waves.

• Measurement of sound waves.

 

​Outcome 2

 

The second outcome was to learn and explain the human hearing mechanism. The key points of this outcome were to know and describe the:

 

• Anatomy of the human ear

• Human perception of loudness

• Human perception of pitch

• Masking and placement of frequencies on the critical bands

• Human perception of the directivity of sounds — level; frequency response; inter-aural time difference; phase and comb filtering

• Human hearing loss and damage and related legislative requirements

 

I passed this outcome by undergoing a closed book assessment in which I had to write short responses demonstrating my knowledge and ability to:

 

• Describe each part of the human ear and how it works.

• Explain the human perception of loudness.

• Describe how the hearing system perceives pitch, linking frequency to pitch.

• Describe the process of masking of sound.

• Explain how the ear perceives the direction of sound.

• Explain how hearing loss can and will occur.

• Explain the current legislative guidelines for preventing damage to the ear of employees including the time of exposure and the level of sound. 

 

​Outcome 3

 

I never completed outcome three before I had to hand in my Graded Unit therefore I haven’t got anything to say to explain about it.

 

I really enjoyed the Acoustics module as it was very interesting learning about how sound waves interact with environment. Also I found it fun learning about the human hearing system and how it works, but also how it can be damaged.

 

I feel the acoustics module will help me in the future in some ways because I gained knowledge about frequencies how to mix them without any masking going on. Also learning about how some frequencies can bend round obstacles whilst others will be absorbed was interesting and I can put that into practice if I am recording different sounds for film.