Acoustics II

Development of competences in the context of research in a program of simulation of auditory stimuli and calculation tools
The curricular unit comprises:
– 1 TP class 1h / week, for the exposes the programmatic contents and applies the physical and mathematical concepts
– 1 T / P class 1h / week, for the application of concepts and mechanisms in problem solving
– 1 PL class 1h / week, for laboratory activities
Continuous evaluation:
1) reports of experimental activities (AE) to be solved in each class (PL)
2) two written assessment tests (PE1 + PE2) (TP)
The final score is the average of the ratings at all times, ie:
Final Notal = (AE + PE1 + PE2)/3, in which PE represents the average of the classification obtained in the various reports (AE), and PE1 and PE2 represents the evaluation obtained in the written evaluation tests.
The average of each component must be equal to or greater than 9 values

The discipline of Acoustics II, following the UC of Acoustics I, aims to provide the students of the Audiology course with a solid basis with regard to fundamental concepts of Acoustics, so that students can achieve the general objectives inscribed in the training plan of the Audiology course of Coimbra Health School. A special emphasis will be provided on the fundamental acoustic concepts, including the relationship between the characteristics of sound and its perception , the principles of the propagation of sound and acoustics of buildings and the understanding of how they apply to the environment where audiometric tests are carried out and the procedures related to equipment calibration; It is also intended to facilitate the development of problem solving skills and critical spirit, particularly when audiometric information seems inconsistent.

1. Acoustic Impedance
Acoustic impedance – definition; correlation with the transfer function of an acoustic system and its frequency response; applications to Audiology Acoustic systems
2. Physical and physiological aspects of the human auditory perception
Logarithmic scales – definition; the dB and references; calculations on scales dB
Sound pressure level – Webner-Fechner law; definition of sound intensity level and sound pressure level; weighted scales; auditory perception of intensity: hearing thresholds, minimum discernible difference, curves of constant sensitivity, hearing level and range of headphones
Sense of pitch – relationship between pitch and frequency
3. Propagation of sound and acoustics of buildings: inverse distance square law, reflection, refraction, diffraction, reverberation and Sabine’s formula and absorption coefficients. Sound fields. Inner acoustic conditioning
4. Sound radiation
5. Noise: noise types, measurement, regulations about noise at the workplace

NAO