Question

If two firecrackers produce a sound level of 81 dBdB when fired simultaneously at a certain place, what will be the sound level if only one is exploded?

Answer 1

Answer:

77.96dB

Explanation:

Recall that decibels are a unit of measuring intensity of sound, and depend on the logarithm of the intensity

the intensity, measured in decibels is given by:

I(db)=10log(I/I0)

I is the intensity in MKS units; I0 is the threshold intensity for human hearing (10^-12 W/m^2)

Thus, if the two sounds together have a dB of 81, we know:

81=10log(I/I0)

using the data above, we can find the intensity of the two sounds to be

0.000125 W/m^2

therefore, one firecracker has an intensity half of that, or 0.0000625W/m^2

now use this value to find the dB of one firecracker:

I(dB0=10log(0.0000625/10^-12)=77.96dB