1. What to expect / how to prepare
- The exam is in class, on paper, closed-book
- You may prepare and bring one page of notes:
- Letter-size paper (8.5 x 11 inches) or A4, or smaller
- Write on one side only (back may be used as scratch paper during exam)
- Your notes page must be handwritten — no screenshots or scans
- Your notes page must be turned in with the exam (but it won't be graded)
- No calculators may be used for this exam
- You may solve for the variable in question and leave your answers in the form of fractions (or do simple calculations by hand)
- Students with ARS accommodations who wish to take their exam at the Testing Center
should follow ARS policies for registering
- Students who only need extended time may remain in our classroom after 12:05 (with me), as long as you don't have more than 200% time
2. Course content covered by the exam
The following are suggested review topics to help you organize your studying and preparation. You may wish to review class notes, lecture outlines, assigned readings, and past assignments and their feedback.
See also the "Core concepts" source-filter model summary diagram.
A. Topics and concepts to know
- Basic acoustics concepts
- Basic wave properties: period, frequency, amplitude, propagation velocity
- Simple/sine waves: amplitude, frequency, spectrum (spectral slice)
- Complex waves: fundamental frequency, components, spectrum (spectral slice)
- How waves combine
- Acoustic vs. perceptual properties of waves: What perceptual properties relate to frequency, amplitude, wave shape?
- Formulas and mathematical operations
- Formula relating period & frequency
- Formula relating frequency, wavelength, & propagation velocity
- How to determine the fundamental frequency of a complex wave, given the frequencies of its components
- The relationship between the length of a tube or string and its resonance wavelengths (be able to derive this yourself, or use the formulas)
- The formula for relating the first resonance frequency of a half-wavelength system or a quarter-wavelength system to additional resonance frequencies of that system
- The formula for relating glottal f0 to higher components (also called higher harmonics) of the glottal source
- The source-filter model and schwa
- What is/are the source(s) and the filter(s) for a schwa (neutral vocal-tract vowel)? What are their acoustic properties?
- Know how to find the formants of schwa for a vocal tract of a given length, and the reverse
- Understand the relationship between a schwa's f0 and its formants
- Multiple-tube model for non-schwa vowels
- Be able to predict formant frequencies for an [a]-type vowel, given the lengths of the back and front cavities
- Be able to predict F2 and F3 for an [i]-type vowel, given the lengths of the back and front cavities
- Understand the general role of the Helmholtz resonator in an [i]-type vowel (no formulas required here)
- Perturbation theory for non-schwa vowels
- Be able to locate nodes and antinodes for F1-F3 on a vocal-tract tube diagram (articulator landmarks will be provided)
- Know the predicted effects of a constriction at a pressure node vs. a pressure antinode
- Know how to translate "high front," "high back," "low back," and "round" (for vowels) into vocal-tract perturbations
- Know how to apply perturbation theory to estimate the formant frequencies of vowels (higher or lower) compared to schwa
- Vowel IPA symbols [i e a o u y ø ]
- Be able to describe these vowels in terms of the traditional categories of height, backness, and rounding
- Remember that we use [a] for the low central (not front) vowel — see LING/ANTH 520 modified vowel chart
- Sound-wave analysis in Praat
- Understand what kind of information is shown in a waveform, a spectral slice (spectrum), and a spectrogram
- Understand how the above three types of display are related to each other
B. What you should be able to do with your knowledge
- Be able to give a short but clear description or explanation
of key terms and concepts
- Be able to solve a problem or apply/interpret a Praat function
like those that have appeared on learning assignments or lab assignments
- And: be able to extend this ability to new or different problems or contexts
- Be able to interpret or draw:
- Waveforms [but you won't have to draw the waveform of a complex wave]
- Spectra (spectral slices)
- Wide or narrow band spectrograms [interpret only]
- Be able to answer "application questions" using your knowledge of acoustics — apply what you know to new contexts or situations