How sound is turned into binary

Measuring a sound wave thousands of times per second and storing each measurement as a binary number.

Part of: Investigating Issues in Technology — Module 5, 7-8 Digital Technologies: Representing data with binary — Module 19, IGCSE Computer Science 0478 — 1.2 Text, Sound and Images — Module 12, ACARA Digital Technologies Years 7–8 — Representing Text, Images and Sound — Module 48, ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Data Compression — Module 8

Understanding How sound is turned into binary in Issues in Technology

What it does: Analogue sound is the real wave before it's sampled. Digital audio is created by sampling a sound wave into binary. Sampling happens thousands of times every second. More samples capture more detail from the original sound wave. Higher bit depth stores more detail in each sample. This is exactly what sampling does to sound.

Common mistakes: Sound is sampled to be stored as binary numbers. Sampling happens thousands of times per second, not once.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Part 1 of 2) and word search (All modules).

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Learning

Duo

Is sound sampled to turn it into binary?

YesNo

Matches

Analogue sound is already stored as binary

↓

Wrong - analogue sound is a wave, not binary numbers

Applying

Meanings

Term

Sampling

Meaning

Measuring a sound wave thousands of times per second and storing each measurement as a binary number.

Practice

Sound is sampled thousands of times per second.

Testing

Gaps

Sound is turned into

Check Answer

Spots

1Sound is never sampled

2Sampling measures a wave

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Quick Questions

1. Is sound sampled to turn it into binary?

A. Yes ✓

B. No

Sampling measures a sound wave to store it as binary numbers.

2. Does sampling happen only once for a whole song?

A. Yes

B. No ✓

Sampling happens thousands of times every second.

3. Is analogue sound the same as digital sound?

A. No ✓

B. Yes

Analogue sound is a wave; digital sound is stored as binary.

4. Can more samples usually mean higher sound quality?

A. Yes ✓

B. No

More samples capture more detail from the original sound wave.

5. Does bit depth affect the detail of a digital sample?

A. No

B. Yes ✓

Higher bit depth stores more detail in each sample.

Match the Pairs

Sampling → Measuring a sound wave many times per second

Bit depth → How much detail each sample captures

The original, real-world type of sound → Analogue sound

The result of sampling a sound wave → Digital audio

Analogue sound is already stored as binary → Wrong - analogue sound is a wave, not binary numbers

Sampling only happens once per song → Wrong - sampling happens thousands of times per second

Key Term

Sampling

Measuring a sound wave thousands of times per second and storing each measurement as a binary number.

Fill in the Blanks

1. Sound is turned into binary

Hint: Type the word for the numbers computers store sound as.

2. A sound wave is sampled many times

Hint: Type the word for measuring a sound wave repeatedly.

3. Each sample becomes a binary number

Hint: Type the word for the numbers computers store sound as.

4. More samples give higher quality

Hint: Type the word for how good the sound turns out.

5. Analogue sound must be sampled to store it

Hint: Type the word for the original, real-world type of sound.

Spot the Error

Question 1

A Sound is never sampled

B Sampling measures a wave

C Samples become binary

Line A — Sound is sampled to be stored as binary numbers.

Question 2

A Sampling happens many times

B Sampling happens only once

C Each sample is binary

Line B — Sampling happens thousands of times per second, not once.

Question 3

A Analogue sound is a real wave

B Digital sound is binary data

C Analogue sound is binary too

Line C — Analogue sound is a wave, not binary numbers.

Question 4

A Sampling rate is how often

B Sound is measured per second

C More samples improve quality

D More samples mean less quality

Line D — More samples usually give better quality, not less.

Question 5

A Bit depth never affects sound

B Bit depth affects quality

C Higher bit depth means detail

D Each sample becomes binary

Line A — Bit depth does affect sound quality - more detail is captured.

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