Physics · Wave motion, longitudinal and transverse waves, speed of the travelling wave, displacement relation for a progressive wave

The average human ear can not distinguish the variation of intensity

The average human ear can not distinguish the variation of intensity

  • A. if the variation is more than 100 times
  • B. if the variation is more than 16 times
  • C. if the variation is less than 16 times
  • D. if the variation is zero

Step-by-step solution

The human ear can detect changes in intensity that exceed a certain threshold (about 1 dB, or a factor of ~1.26). Variations less than this threshold are not distinguishable, but variations greater than 16 or 100 times are easily noticeable. Only when the variation is zero—i.e., no change in intensity—is there no variation to distinguish, making it the only case where the ear cannot distinguish any variation.
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