15. Forry, wrong number! II
Fun links from "A Moment of Science"

     This page features links to several pages from the "A Moment of Science" site, each of which can serve as an independent study unit; so you may want to visit just one link first, then come back to the others, one at a time, when it's convenient for you. The links are gathered together in this one page for convenience, not because you should expect to get through everything in one sitting! And you don't need to finish all of these before going on to the next page. But do at least try the first one.

     Why do we often mishear words on the telephone, e.g. sick for thick, or Terry for Carrie? Below follow text and audio links to an explanation of this phenomenon, entitled "Forry, Wrong Number":

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/forry.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/forry.ram

     The frequency range of a human voice depends of course on sex and age, among other things. The average frequency of a male voice is around 120Hz; for females it's 235; and for children it's around 265. During puberty, the voices of both sexes go through changes, though these are of course much greater in boys than in girls. This page, entitled "When a Boy's Voice Changes", explains this process:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/boyvoice.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/boyvoice.ram

          
     Another thing besides puberty that affects the pitch of our voice is illness. Our voice sounds different when we have a cold. Here is an explanation:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/coldvoice.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/coldvoice.ram


     Remember the first time you heard yourself on tape? You probably didn't think you sounded like "you". Follow the links to learn about bone conduction, and one reason why we don't like to hear ourselves on tape:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/voices.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/voices.ram


     Maybe your computer sounds more like you than you do!

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/computer.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/computer.ram

     Ever play with a tin can phone when you were a kid?

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/phone.html


     Music, wavelength, and becoming part of the music:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/music.html


     Hearing sounds underwater:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/water.html


     Drowned-out consonants:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/consonant.html


     The acoustics of laughter:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/laughter.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/laughter.ram


     Reading, dyslexia, and phonological awareness:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/dyslexia.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/dyslexia.ram


     Jumping at a bag being popped:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/bang.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/bang.ram

     An interesting take on resonance – The sexiest frog in Borneo:

text: http://wfiu.indiana.edu/amos/library/scripts/sexyfrog.html
audio: http://wfiu.indiana.edu/amos/library/sexyfrog.ram

     An animal that "talks" with his ears:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/bullfrog.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/bullfrog.ram

     Do chickens have language?

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/chickentalk.html
audio: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/chickentalk.ram


      Hearing test for moths:

text: http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/moths.html

          
     Whew! That was a lot of information on sounds and hearing. The next page will be shorter. You've certainly heard of 'white noise'. But did you know that there is also something called 'pink noise'? It gets even worse! Read on!

Next: White noise, pink noise...orange noise???

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