How Sound Travels:Sensation and Perception (Essay Sample)

Sensation and Perception
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If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Answer yes, because the sound is vibration, and the falling tree makes sound due to vibrations in the air. According to Yantis and Abrams (2014), sensation occurs because of stimulation of the sensory body organ, sensory nerve, and sensory part of the brain, while perception refers to recognizing and interpreting sensory stimuli. An excellent example of sensation is when you walk to a restaurant or food joint place and recognize scent of various foods, but perception involves interpretation of types of foods using scents. Sound produces vibrations transferred through media, that is, water, gas, or air. The vibrations stimulate the sensory body organs, which send signals to the brain to recognize the type of sound. Sound waves are the basis for understanding sound and hearing. Therefore, this paper focuses on sound, sound waves, and how the sense of hearing works.
Moore (2012) defined sound as the term that describes hearing while sound wave passes through a media to the ear while sound waves are changes in pressure produces by different elements. There are various features that distinctive sound and sound waves. Proper characteristics are pitch, intensity, and duration, while in sound waves, the qualities include wavelength, amplitude, velocity, frequency, and period. Pitch is the quality of sound that distinguishes low and high sound. This feature depends on the wave frequency usually measured in Hertzes (Hz). The sound's duration differentiates between long and short sounds, which depend on the length of the waves. Intensity is a feature that tells how loud or soft the sound is. However, this depends on the wave amplitude and the distance of the sound. The categories of sounds are inaudible, audible, low, high, pleasant, unpleasant, and soft. Sound originates from different sources, either natural or artificial. For instance,