Question

Your boss asks you to design a room that can be as soundproof as possible and provides you with three samples of material. The only information on each sample's label is the material's coefficient of absorption. The coefficient of absorption listed on Sample A is 30%, on Sample B is 47%, and on Sample C is 62%. When your boss asks for your choice and the reasoning behind it, what would you tell him?

A. Sample C would be best, because the percentage of the energy in an incident wave that remains in a reflected wave from this material is the largest.
B. Sample A would be best, because the percentage of the energy in an incident wave that remains in a reflected wave from this material is the largest.
C. Sample C would be best, because the percentage of the energy in an incident wave that remains in a reflected wave from this material is the smallest.
D. Sample A would be best, because the percentage of the energy in an incident wave that remains in a reflected wave from this material is the smallest.

Answer 1

In this particular instance, the best sample to use would be C. The specific reasoning behind this would be letter D, in that the reason sample C would work best is due to the fact that the percentage of the energy in an incident wave that remains in a reflected wave from this material would be the largest. This would therefore lead to the greatest possible amount of sound-proofing within the materials provided.