Two friends speak to you on the telephone, with the same pitch and the same loudness…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
Two friends speak to you on the telephone, with the same pitch and the same loudness. You can still tell who is who. Which property of sound lets you do this, and what is different in their sound waves?
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
Loudness depends on the amplitude, pitch on the frequency, and quality on the mixture of frequencies. People hear about to : below is infrasound, above is ultrasound.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The pitch (frequency) and the loudness (amplitude) are the same.
Step 2. Each voice mixes in a different set of higher frequencies, so the waves have different shapes.
Answer: the quality (timbre): the different mixture of frequencies in each voice.
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