Answer the following questions based on the following information:
Ben can just barely detect a 10 dB SPL 1000 Hz tone when it is presented by itself. When a 50 dB SPL 2000 Hz tone is
added to the background, Ben now cannot detect the 1000 Hz tone. He can only detect the 1000 Hz tone when its intensity
is increased to 35 dB SPL. What is Ben’s masked threshold?
1. What is Ben’s unmasked threshold?
2. What is the signal?
3. What is the masker?
4. What is the masked signal threshold?
5. Beth is listening to music, but she has to increase the volume of the CD player because she can also hear her husband
singing loudly in the shower at the same time. Assuming that Beth wants to listen to the music from the CD player
and not to her husband, what type of masking is this?
a. There is no masker
b. Forward masking
c. Backward masking
d. Simultaneous masking
6. For which of the following sounds does the Weber’s law for intensity discrimination hold true?
a. Pure tones
b. Broadband noise
7. The Weber fraction for frequency discrimination for a 1000 Hz signal presented at 60 dB is 0.003. What is
the frequency difference limen?
a. 3 Hz
b. 20 Hz
c. 30 Hz
d. 3000 Hz
8. Ben intensity difference limen for a 1000 Hz standard presented at 10 dB SPL is 2 dB. What is Ben’s Weber
fraction for frequency discrimination?
a. 0.2
b. 20
c. 0.002
d. Cannot tell from this information
ANSWERS
Ben can just barely detect a 10 dB SPL 1000 Hz tone when it is presented by itself. When a 50 dB SPL 2000 Hz tone is
added to the background, Ben now cannot detect the 1000 Hz tone. He can only detect the 1000 Hz tone when its intensity
is increased to 35 dB SPL. What is Ben’s masked threshold?
1. What is Ben’s unmasked threshold? 10 dB SPL
2. What is the signal? 1000 Hz tone
3. What is the masker? 2000 Hz tone
4. What is the masked signal threshold? 35 dB SPL
5. Beth is listening to music, but she has to increase the volume of the CD player because she can also hear her
husband singing loudly in the shower at the same time. Assuming that Beth wants to listen to the music from
the CD player and not to her husband, what type of masking is this?
a. There is no masker
b. Forward masking
c. Backward masking
d. Simultaneous masking
6. For which of the following sounds does the Weber’s law for intensity discrimination hold true?
a. Pure tones
b. Broadband noise
7. The Weber fraction for frequency discrimination for a 1000 Hz signal presented at 60 dB is 0.003.
What is the frequency difference limen?
a. 3 Hz (Δf/f = 0.003. f here is 1000, so Δf must be 3. A common mistake here is thinking
f = 60. The question is on frequency discrimination, not intensity discrimination)
b. 0.18 dB
c. 30 Hz
d. 3000 Hz
8. Ben intensity difference limen for a 1000 Hz standard presented at 10 dB SPL is 2 dB. What is
Ben’s Weber fraction for frequency discrimination for the 1000 Hz tone?
a. 0.2 (= 2/10. This would be correct if the question was on intensity discrimination)
b. 20
c. 0.002
d. Cannot tell from this information (Don’t know what the frequency difference limen for
the 1000 Hz standard is)