Doubling Distance from a sound source results in:

Prepare for the Bioenvironmental Engineering Apprentice Test with our interactive quizzes. Featuring flashcards and detailed explanations, you'll be ready to ace your exam!

Multiple Choice

Doubling Distance from a sound source results in:

Explanation:
Doubling the distance from a sound source in a free field follows spherical spreading, where the sound pressure falls in proportion to 1/r. If you move twice as far away, the pressure becomes half as large. Since sound pressure level in decibels is 20 log10(p/p0), replacing p with p0/2 gives 20 log10(1/2) ≈ -6.0 dB. So the sound pressure level decreases by about 6 dB. This uses the simple point-source model; real environments with reflections or absorption can alter the amount, but the baseline rule is a ≈6 dB drop when distance is doubled.

Doubling the distance from a sound source in a free field follows spherical spreading, where the sound pressure falls in proportion to 1/r. If you move twice as far away, the pressure becomes half as large. Since sound pressure level in decibels is 20 log10(p/p0), replacing p with p0/2 gives 20 log10(1/2) ≈ -6.0 dB. So the sound pressure level decreases by about 6 dB. This uses the simple point-source model; real environments with reflections or absorption can alter the amount, but the baseline rule is a ≈6 dB drop when distance is doubled.

Subscribe

Get the latest from Passetra

You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our privacy policy