New
New
Year 10
OCR

Representation of sound

I can describe how computers represent sound.

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New
New
Year 10
OCR

Representation of sound

I can describe how computers represent sound.

Link copied to clipboard

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Sound is a pressure wave that causes the air to vibrate.
  2. A sound sample is a measure of a sound wave at a point in time.
  3. Samples of sound are digitised using a specified bit depth so they can be processed by a computer.
  4. Sample rate is a measure of the number of samples taken each second.

Keywords

  • Sample - the measurement of a sound wave at a point in time

  • Digitisation - converting data to a binary sequence

  • Bit depth - the number of bits used to represent a sample

  • Sample rate - the number of samples taken per second (measured in hertz)

Common misconception

The sample rate and bit depth of samples adjusts based on the sound that is being digitsed.

The digitsation of sound needs to be consistent so that the binary sequence represented can be processed as expected.


To help you plan your year 10 computer science lesson on: Representation of sound, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The approximation of determining samples should be modelled. Talk through the process of deciding the nearest sample where the measurement falls between two values.
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Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a bitmap image?
a sequence of binary digits
a program written in binary code
a single pixel
Correct answer: an image represented by a grid of pixels
Q2.
Put these elements in order from smallest to largest:
1 - binary digit
2 - pixel
3 - bitmap image
Q3.
What is the term for facts and figures in their raw form?
Correct Answer: data, raw data
Q4.
What term describes the total number of pixels in an image based on its width and height?
Correct Answer: resolution
Q5.
What is a trade-off in image design?
Correct answer: reducing resolution to save file size
increasing colour depth to reduce quality
using fewer pixels to improve quality
removing binary sequences from an image
Q6.
What happens if you increase the resolution of an image?
the file size decreases
Correct answer: the file size increases
the colour depth decreases
the pixels become smaller

6 Questions

Q1.
What is a sample in the context of sound digitisation?
a complete sound wave
the number of bits used to represent a sound wave
the total duration of a sound file
Correct answer: a measurement of a sound wave at a point in time
Q2.
What does digitisation mean?
Correct answer: converting data into a binary sequence
measuring a sound wave at a point in time
increasing the bit depth of a sound file
reducing the sample rate of a sound wave
Q3.
What is sample rate?
the number of bits used to represent a sample
Correct answer: the number of samples taken per second
the total number of sound waves in a file
the resolution of a sound file
Q4.
What happens if you increase the sample rate of a sound file?
the resolution decreases
the sound quality becomes worse
Correct answer: the file size increases
the file size decreases
Q5.
What is measured in hertz (Hz) during sound digitisation?
Correct Answer: sample rate
Q6.
Why must the sample rate and bit depth remain consistent during digitisation?
Correct answer: to ensure the binary sequence can be processed as expected
to reduce the file size of the sound wave
to allow the sound to change dynamically
to increase the duration of the sound file