it's over...

[montanamary]

The first test for my Speech and Hearing Science class is over. Thanks goodness. I am not entirely certain why I need to learn about sine waves, longitudinal waves, transverse waves, and all of that to do Speech, but okay...All I can say is it's over

Comments

[suddenlynaked]

"I understand how sound moves through air - but to figure out by hand the length of a sound wave so I can figure out the frequency, etc. is just a bit much...isn't that what technology is for?"

Hmmm - one fast way to figure that stuff out is by musical note/ The A below middle C is 440 hz - the octave above is 880. Divide the difference by 12 and you should be able to figure out each note of the scale - roughly. (the octave below would be 220) It seems peculiar to figure out the lenth of the frequency, when you can just figure out the hz with a piano...

[montanamary]

Not that I'm anywhere near understanding it either, but apparently we're supposed to be able to take a frequency and figure out how long the wavelength will be, take a wavelength and figure out the frequency of it as well as the period of it, and gods only know what else. But we also have to be able to do it for both simple harmonic motions (pure tones) and periodic complex waves (complete with harmonics) in anything from 20Hz to 20,000 Hz.

We also have to be able to convert all the convertable information from seconds to ms, inches to cm, etc. (Have I said lately, how much I hate math)? Not to mention that I still don't know why I have to be able to do that to teach someone to articulate correctly!

((beginning mantra: I must have faith, I must have faith, I must have faith))

[garzan]

Okay, this is just a wild ass guess but... different material, and lengths absorb sound in a predictable manner. In radio, you know that if you design an antenna to the proper length, it will receive a transmission better than if you just hacked of a piece of coat hanger and hoped for the best. Understanding how sound waves react on all the parts and pieces of the human ear (the mechanics involved) could (maybe sorta) give you a leg up when things aren't quite right.

Then again, I could be totally wrong.

BTW, have I told you lately how proud I am of you for all the things you're doing? If not, I've been remiss. You are truely amazing.