You will need:
q Blindfold
q Stopwatch or timer
q Ear plugs
q Coloured tape
q Protractor
q Pen, felt-tip pen and paper
q Chair and metre scale
q Volunteers
Conduct this experiment to understand what it means to use monaural or binaural information to localize the origin of sound.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Create two data sheets (Group 1 & Group 2) and label the 1st column—Subject No. and the 2nd column— No. of Rays Off.
2. Divide your friends into 2 groups.
3. From a chair placed in the middle of the room, mark 9 equidistant rays with coloured tape. Number the rays.
4. Starting with group 1, seat your blindfolded friend on the chair. Put an ear plug in his one ear only.
5. Stand on any one of the rays and set a timer.
6. Gradually move towards your friend. Stop the timer.
7. Ask your friend to point at the ray the sound originated from.
8. Note down his answer.
9. Then, follow the same experiment with group 2, but without ear plugs.
10. Note down how many could accurately localize the origin of sound.
RESULT
Using one ear (monaural information) to localize sounds is trickier than using both ears (binaural information) for sound localization since it limits our perception to one side. Many factors including the angle of origination can also affect our perception.
