What is the audible range (hearing range) of humans?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — A, 20 Hz to 20000 Hz. A healthy young human ear can hear sound whose frequency lies roughly between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (20 kHz). Below 20 Hz the sound is infrasonic and above 20,000 Hz it is ultrasonic — both are inaudible to us. (This upper limit falls with age.)

Why the other options are wrong — (b) Far too narrow — humans easily hear frequencies well below 80 Hz and far above 100 Hz. This is only a tiny slice of the true range.  (c) '2 lac to 4 lac Hz' (200,000–400,000 Hz) is deep in the ultrasonic range used by bats and dolphins — far beyond human hearing.  (d) This is the infrasonic range (below 20 Hz), which the human ear cannot perceive as sound.

Concept: Sound is classified by frequency. Infrasonic: below 20 Hz (felt, not heard — e.g. earthquakes). Audible: about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz — the human hearing range. Ultrasonic: above 20,000 Hz — used by bats and dolphins for echolocation and in medical ultrasound. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), where 1 Hz = one vibration per second.

State PCS 2018 Q7 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2018 Q7 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer