A single dog barks at a sound intensity level of β=96dB. Another dog runs up beside the first dog and starts barking at the same sound intensity level. What sound intensity level in decibels do you hear from the two dogs barking? Now many other dogs run up and start barking at you. Assuming they all bark at the same sound intensity level, what will the sound intensity level in decibels be if there are 15 dogs barking at you?
To find the combined sound intensity level of multiple sources, we use the formula:
L_total = β + 10 * log10(n)
where L_total is the total sound intensity level, β is the sound intensity level of a single source, and n is the number of sources.
For two dogs:
L_total = 96 + 10 * log10(2) ā 96 + 3.01 ā 99.01 dB
For 15 dogs:
L_total = 96 + 10 * log10(15) ā 96 + 11.76 ā 107.76 dB