The difference between the maximum and minimum values of an acoustic variable is called the ____.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values of an acoustic variable is called the ____.

• A. RMS value
• B. Peak-to-peak amplitude
• C. Average value
• D. Instantaneous value

Answer: (B)

Think about the range an acoustic variable covers during a cycle. The maximum value reached and the minimum value reached define the extremes, and their difference is the peak-to-peak amplitude. For a wave centered around zero, this is twice the amplitude: it goes from +A to -A, so the peak-to-peak is 2A. If pressure swings from +3 to -3 Pa, the peak-to-peak is 6 Pa. This measure shows the total excursion of the signal. In contrast, the RMS value relates to the signal’s power content, not its instantaneous range; the average value is the mean over time and is zero for a symmetric AC signal around zero; the instantaneous value is simply the signal’s value at a single moment. So the difference between the maximum and minimum values is peak-to-peak amplitude.

Think about the range an acoustic variable covers during a cycle. The maximum value reached and the minimum value reached define the extremes, and their difference is the peak-to-peak amplitude. For a wave centered around zero, this is twice the amplitude: it goes from +A to -A, so the peak-to-peak is 2A. If pressure swings from +3 to -3 Pa, the peak-to-peak is 6 Pa. This measure shows the total excursion of the signal. In contrast, the RMS value relates to the signal’s power content, not its instantaneous range; the average value is the mean over time and is zero for a symmetric AC signal around zero; the instantaneous value is simply the signal’s value at a single moment. So the difference between the maximum and minimum values is peak-to-peak amplitude.