Mrs. Scarpaci is complaining that the street noise is louder in her apartment than in her upstairs neighbor's. To test her claim, you check the noise in each apartment with a sound meter. The meter registers 50 db in Mrs. Scarpaci's apartment and 30 db in her neighbor's. How much louder is the street noise in Mrs. Scarpaci's apartment?
A) 10 times louder
B) 50 times louder
C) 100 times louder
D) 200 times louder

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The difference in decibels between the two apartments is 20 (50-30). However, decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, meaning that a 10 dB increase represents a sound that is perceived as being twice as loud. Therefore, a 20 dB increase represents a sound that is 100 times louder (10 x 10) in Mrs. Scarpaci's apartment compared to her neighbor's. Thus, the correct choice is C.

Mrs Scarpaci Is Complaining That the Street Noise Is Louder