Speech and Hearing Science Final Study Guide - Key Terms & Definitions

Consider a pendulum, like a washer on a string.

During simple harmonic motion as the pendulum moves past rest position it eventually stops, changes direction and moves back towards rest position. Which law best describes the phenomenon?

Hooke's Law (of elasticity)

Consider a pendulum, like a washer on a string.

Before it is displaced and begins to oscillate in simple harmonic motion, it's state can be described best by which law of motion?

Newton's First Law (Inertia)

Consider a pendulum, like a washer on a string.

During simple harmonic motion the oscillation does not continue forever; it eventually stops moving. Which law best describes this phenomenon?

Newton's Third Law (Friction)

When a sound moves from one medium to another (for example from air to water) what change is most likely to occur?

The wavelength will change

Consider a pendulum, like a washer on a string.

During simple harmonic motion as the pendulum moves it moves past rest position. Which law best describes why it moves past rest position?

Newton's First Law (Inertia)

Consider two sounds, one has really a high frequency (5000Hz), the other has a really low frequency (50Hz). Based on the information provided, which wave characteristic will be different between these two sounds?

1) Period

2) Phase

3) Amplitude

Period

Which wave characteristic is wavelength most closely related to?

1) Phase

2) Amplitude

3) Distance from source

4) Period

Period

When a sound is generated, for instance by two hands clapping together, what is the best description for how the sound travels from the hands to your ears.

The air molecules in the medium stay mostly in the same place, but begin to oscillate in simple harmonic motion when the pressure wave reaches them.

This represents wavelength

Wavelength

A wave has a period of 0.004807s. What is the wave's frequency?

208 Hz

Select the wave that best matches this power spectrum. It is a linear straight line.

Complex aperiodic wave

Based on the following wave description, select the appropriate power spectrum:

a complex periodic wave with a fundamental frequency of 500Hz

500 on x axis representing Hz. Complex periodic waves have multiple lines that continuously get smaller amplitudes as frequency increases.

Will be the power spectrum that starts at 50 Hz, (Find this by doing 1/0.02), and has multiple lines, getting shorter as the frequency increases.

Consider the following wave, select the appropriate power spectrum. (complex periodic wave)

Deconstructive interference (the valleys are troughs are opposite of each other between the two lines)

These two waves are completely out of phase (see picture). If they were added together what kind of interference would occur?

A. All of the lines have valleys at this point.

Consider the image above. Which letter corresponds with an example of constructive interference?

A complex periodic wave has a fundamental frequency of 150Hz. What are the frequencies of this wave's first three harmonics?

300Hz, 450Hz and 600Hz

(Find this by doing 150x2, 150x3, 150x4)

Absorption

An anechoic chamber is a special room with foam baffles on all surfaces (see picture). It is a room designed because of boundary behaviors and interference. They do this to avoid sound interference patterns from echoing sound waves. Hearing scientists use rooms like this to test hearing aids.

What boundary behavior are the scientists trying to cause in an anechoic chamber?

Consider the sound produced by two hands clapping. In an open field the duration of a clap is 22ms (0.022s). However, in the enclosed stairwell of the Human Sciences and Services building a clap lasts much longer; 250ms (0.250s).

What causes the clap in the stairwell to last such a long time?

The sound is reflecting off of the walls

How do ear plugs work to reduce sound energy?

The soft squishy material absorbs much of the energy as the wave travels through the ear plug

There are two people standing in front of a speaker Bill is 10 feet away from the speaker while Ted is 20 feet away from the speaker. If Ted hears a 84dB sound, how loud of a sound does Bill hear?

90 dB (Inverse square law. As the distance doubles the intensity of a sound will decrease by 6 dB) 84+6 = 90dB

What is the decibel level of a sound that generates a 200,000 μPa pressure wave (consider a reference value of 20 μPa)?

80 dB.

20xlog10x(200,000/20).

20xlog10x(10,000)

20x4

80

The decibel scale is a logarithmic scale. Which of the following is a benefit of using a logarithmic scale to describe sound amplitude?

1) It is more closely related to how are larynx produces sound than intensity or pressure

2) It is more accurate that using intensity or pressure

3) It helps to make the very large range of pressure or intensity values more understandable

It helps to make the very large range of pressure or intensity values more understandable

Consider the options below; among these options, which is the best way to improve the quality of your recording?

1) Always record with your speakers and microphone turned up as high as possible

2) Have your subject wear noise cancelling headphones

3) Record in an environment with few noise source

Record in an environment with few noise source

In a recording set up, having an adequate sampling rate helps us to record accurate:

Frequencies

While driving in a car down the highway you record a friend's voice using your phone. When you listen to the recording her voice is difficult to hear. What do you think caused her voice to be hard to hear?

The presence of background noise

How much more intense is a 100dB sound compared to a 50dB sound?

10^5 times more intense (100,000)

100-50 = 50

50/10 = 5.0

=10^5

How much greater is the pressure generated by a 120dB sound compared to a 40dB sound?

10^4 times greater pressure (10,000)

120-40 = 80

80/20 = 4

10^4

0.00117 seconds. Since F0 is 425, times that by 2 to get 850. Then do 1/850 to get 0.00117 seconds.

In the image below the red arrow points to a harmonic. What is the period of this harmonic?

In a recording set up, having an adequate bit depth helps us to record accurate

amplitudes

Consider the following recording set up, what is this recording's nyquist frequency?

Microphone: 44,100Hz

Processor: 44,000Hz

Speaker: 48,000Hz

22,000 Hz. (Divide each option by two and pick the smallest number)

As humans grow from childhood to adulthood both their vocal tracts and vocal folds lengthen over time. What happens to the frequencies of the formants?

They lower because the vocal tract gets longer

Jeff and Keira both have 14cm long vocal tracts. Jeff's fundamental frequency is lower than Keira's. Which of the following statements is true

Jeff and Keira will have similar formant frequencies

Why do we report Maximum Phonation Frequency Range (MPFR) as semitones or octaves and not Hz?

The perceptual difference between adjacent frequencies decreases as frequency increases (adjacent frequencies begin to sound more similar as frequency increases)

While listening to your friend you notice her voice sounds breathy. Which acoustic feature do you suspect will be outside of normal limits, and in what direction?

HNR will be diminished

Why is the value of dynamic range usually lower than conversational intensity?

Because of how they're calculated: dynamic range is a difference, conversational intensity is an average.

While completing a voice quality analysis for a transgender woman you measure her F0 to be 165 Hz. This is higher than the average for cisgender men but lower than the average for cisgender women. Jitter, shimmer, HNR in sustained phonation, HNR in connected speech and conversational intensity are all within normal limits. Is her voice disordered?

No, we can't easily compare F0 norms for her, but given her other values we determine her voice is healthy

Jitter

Consider the image below. We extracted 5 sequential cycles from a wave and lined them up on top of each other so they all start at time 0. Each is displayed in a different color. The difference between each cycle reflects an acoustic measure. What acoustic measure does this figure depict?

Formants 1, 2 and 3

Consider the image below. This is a depiction of a vowel's power spectrum. What are the blue arrows pointing to?

What is the purpose of an acoustic filter?

To change the amplitude of some frequencies in the wave

You conduct electroglottography on a person with a strained vocal quality. Even before you see the wave, what are you expecting to see?

Wide peaks: more time is spent with the vocal folds closed

Resting expiratory end level can be best described by which of the following:

1) Recoil forces of the chest wall equal recoil forces of the lungs

2) Recoil forces of the chest wall are greater than the recoil forces of the lung

3) Recoil forces of the chest wall are less than recoil forces of the lung

Recoil forces of the chest wall equal recoil forces of the lungs

If you analyzed the s/z ratio from two people: one person has a healthy voice whereas the other person has a breathy voice. Compared to the person with the healthy voice, what would you expect the s/z ratio be like in the person with the breathy voice?

It would be bigger than the healthy person's

The image where all the lines are on the upper side of the diagram. With a high pass filter, lower frequencies are cut off.

Below is a power spectrum of an original wave form. The original waveform was subjected to a high-pass filter. In the options below select power spectrum that corresponds with the filtered waveform.

You complete a voice analysis for a teacher who has recently noticed a change in her voice. In the morning her voice sounds and feels fine. But as she talks throughout the day her voice loses intensity and begins to sound breathy.

What is likely wrong with her voice?

Fatigue: as the day goes on she's not able to fully adduct her vocal folds, so air begins to escape

What is the best definition of vital capacity?

Starting at resting expiratory end level, breathing in as much air as possible then breathing out as much air as possible.

What is a resonator?

A physical structure that will amplify specific frequencies

According to the Source Filter Theory, changing the shape of the vocal tract will change the frequency of some harmonics

False

Select the measure that fundamental frequency is most closely related to.

1) The variation of vibratory cycle durations during conversational speech

2) Jitter divided by shimmer

3) The maximum vibratory cycle duration during maximum phonation frequency range

4)The duration of one vibratory cycle during conversational speech

The duration of one vibratory cycle during conversational speech

Why would it be a bad idea to use maximum phonation frequency range to measure jitter?

The frequency changes during the glides

A person has a 17cm long vocal tract, meaning the formants of their neutral vowel are:

F1: 500Hz

F2: 1500Hz

F3: 2500Hz

She moves her tongue forward in the mouth. Select the correct change

F2: 1700Hz. This would be because when tongue advancement increases, F2 increases.

For F1, when the tongue height increases, F1 decreases.

Consider the following four images. Each displays a power spectrum. Which one shows the sound with the highest harmonic-to-noise ratio?

The one with the smallest width from first to last line, and highest height of lines.

There are multiple sources of glottal inefficiency. The most common is probably changes to the make up of the vocal folds; like when we are sick our vocal folds may swell due to inflammation. Which of the following is another potential source of glottal inefficiency?

Reduced respiratory capacity from typical (e.g., COPD)

It is very common for people to end their utterances in vocal fry, a very low frequency phonation with sort of a "popping" sound to it. This is an example of which register?

Pulse Register

Select the best definition of the source filter theory.

The configuration of the vocal tract determines which harmonics from the pressure wave generated by the vocal folds will be amplified or attenuated

D

The configuration of the vocal tract determines which harmonics from the pressure wave generated by the vocal folds will be amplified or attenuated

What mechanism is primarily responsible for expiration at the beginning of an utterance?

Inspiratory muscles

117 Hz. (Find the difference between each line. 702-585=117)

Below is a power spectrum. The fundamental frequency has been filtered out of this wave. But we can still determine the fundamental frequency. What is the fundamental frequency of the (original) wave?

Due to a recent neck injury, your client's left vocal fold is dislocated and stuck in the abducted (open) position.

You complete a voice quality assessment on her voice after her injury. Make some hypotheses regarding how her vocal quality assessments might change.

HNR during speech - Diminished

Conversational Intensity- Diminished

HNR during sustained phonation- Diminished

According to the Source Filter Theory, changing the fundamental frequency will change the frequencies of some formants

False

Select the statement that best completes the following sentence:

A low pass filter ______________________________

removes frequencies above a cutoff frequency

While completing a voice quality analysis on a cisgender man you measure his F0 to be 165Hz. This is a higher frequency than the average range. What does this mean?

His vocal folds are smaller than the average cisgender man's

Compared to tidal breathing, what is different about the expiratory phase of speech breathing?

Requires the use of inspiration muscles

According to the formant rules, if the frequency of the second formant increases in what way did the vocal tract change

Blade of tongue moved forward

According to the Source Filter Theory, changing the shape of the vocal tract will change the amplitude of some harmonics

True

During loud phonation the intrinsic muscles of the larynx push the vocal folds together more tightly. This means the respiratory system must use more force to generate phonation. How will the phonation threshold pressure be for loud phonation be different than the phonation threshold pressure of quiet phonation?

PTP will be greater because of the extra muscle effort

This Maximum Performance Measures can be used to measure both the consistency of the vibratory cycle but also gives us a reflection of respiratory health.

Maximum Phonation Time

Shimmer

Consider the image below. We extracted 5 sequential cycles from a wave and lined them up on top of each other so they all start at time 0. Each is displayed in a different color. The difference between each cycle reflects an acoustic measure. What acoustic measure does this figure depict?

Dysarthria is a speech disorder where people lose strength and mobility in the muscles that control their articulators. A loss of mobility means they will not be able to move their articulators as quickly. Which manner of articulation will this impact the most?

Glides

Nasal

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

"w" as in "went"

Select the phoneme most likely depicted in the image below.

Dysarthria is a speech disorder where people lose strength and mobility in the muscles that control their articulators. A loss of strength means they will not be able to generate high intra-oral pressure. Which manner of articulation will this impact the most?

Plosives (stops)

Same

Select the word that matches the spectrogram best.

An articulation substitution is when someone substitutes one phoneme for a different one. For example, a very common one many children produce is to substitute the bilabibal glide (/w/) for a palatal liquid (/ɹ/). A child might say, "wainbow" instead of "rainbow."

Select the spectrogram where the /ɹ/ has been substituted by a /w/.

Why is phonation threshold pressure greater with higher frequency sounds than lower frequency sounds

When the vocal folds stretch they are under more tension which requires more pressure to begin vibration

Voiceless Fricative?

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

Why is phonation threshold pressure greater with loud sounds than with quiet sounds?

During higher intensity sound the vocal folds adduct with more force, which requires more pressure to begin vibration

Glide

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

Why is phonation threshold pressure greater in connected speech compared to sustained phonation?

Connected speech has consonants which require more pressure

Train

Select the word to matches the spectrogram best.

voiceless affricate

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

voiceless plosive

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

Please select the best example of emphatic stress

Increased intensity on a few important words in the sentence

A syllable or word that is stressed will have longer duration that one that is not stressed (True or False)

True

Glide

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

liquid

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

Voiced Plosive

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

"t" as in "tea"

Select the phoneme most likely depicted in the image below.

Prince

Select the word that matches the spectrogram best.

Which statement regarding African American English is true

It is a dialect of American English that follows its own predictable rule-governed patterns

repetition of "rain" in the phase "the rainbow"

Stuttering is a speech disorder characterized by repeating sounds, prolonging sounds and difficulty initiating sounds. Select the spectrogram that shows a repetition of "rain" in the phase "the rainbow"

A change in fundamental frequency always changes sentence type (e.g., rising frequency for question / stable frequency for statement)? (True or False)

False

Voiced Fricative

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

Change

Select the word that matches the spectrogram best.

"m" as in "meet"

Select the phoneme most likely depicted in the image below.

Please select the best example of contrastive stress

stress that highlights a particular word in the sentence

How is speech rate different from articulation rate?

Speech rate includes all events that occur during speech, whereas articulation rate only includes the relevant speech

Nasal

Consider the image below of a vowel-consonant-vowel nonsense word. Select the best description of the consonant.

"z" as in "zip"

Select the phoneme most likely depicted in the image below.

Why is it impossible to hum with your nose pitched?

Air is unable to escape and when oral/pharyngeal pressure equals subglottal pressure vocal fold vibration stops

once

Select the word that matches the spectrogram best.