An equation for loudness L in decibels is given by L= 10LogR where R is the sound’s relative intensity. An air-raid siren can re
ach 150 decibels and jet engine noise can reach 120 decibels. How many times greater is the relative intensity of the air-raid siren than that of the jet engine noise?
We are asked to find ratio of two relative intensities. Let's start by rearranging formula for R:
For air-raid siren we have:
For jet engine noise we have:
To find out <span>many times greater is the relative intensity of the air-raid siren than that of the jet engine noise we need to divide these two numbers: </span>tex] \frac{R_{1}}{R_{2}} = \frac{10^{15}}{10^{12}} =10^{3}=1000[/tex]