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How to Calculate the Decibel Level

The decibel level is a measure of sound intensity in reference to the minimum audible human sound. The higher the decibel level of a sound is, the louder it is. A sound that is 0 decibels is just barely audible. On the other hand, an 85 decibel sound is loud enough to damage your ears. Because sound is considered dangerous if it exceeds certain levels, laws are made that prohibit loud sounds. These laws designate the maximum permitted sound in decibels. Sound engineers calculate the maximum sound level in decibels with logarithms, a mathematical function found on most scientific calculators.

Scientific calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Pick a sound intensity level. Use 0.001 for this example.
- 2
  Calculate the ratio of the sound intensity level to the minimum audible sound. Divide the sound intensity you want to convert to decibels by the minimum audible sound intensity, the fraction, one-trillionth. For this example divide 0.0001 by the fraction, one-trillionth. Check your result. Make sure it is equal to 100,000,000. Conclude that 100 million is the sound intensity ratio.
- 3
  Calculate the logarithm of the ratio obtained in the previous step. For this example, the ratio is 100,000,000. Press the logarithm button of your calculator, then enter 100,000,000. Check to see if the calculator displays 8. Conclude that the logarithm of 100,000,000 is 8.
- 4
  Calculate the decibel level. Multiply the logarithm obtained in the previous step by 10. So multiply 8, the logarithm obtained in the previous step, by 10. Conclude that the decibel level is 80, since 8 times 10 is 80.

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