| Sound measurements | |
|---|---|
| Characteristic | Symbols | 
| Sound pressure | p, SPL | 
| Particle velocity | v, SVL | 
| Particle displacement | δ | 
| Sound intensity | I, SIL | 
| Sound power | P, SWL | 
| Sound energy | W | 
| Sound energy density | w | 
| Sound exposure | E, SEL | 
| Acoustic impedance | Z | 
| Speed of sound | c | 
| Audio frequency | AF | 
| Transmission loss | TL | 
|  | |
Sound pressure or acoustic pressure is the local pressure deviation from the ambient (average, or equilibrium) atmospheric pressure, caused by a sound wave. In air, sound pressure can be measured using a microphone, and in water with a hydrophone. The SI unit of sound pressure is the pascal (Pa).
A sound wave in a transmission medium causes a deviation (sound pressure, a dynamic pressure) in the local ambient pressure, a static pressure.
Sound pressure, denoted p, is defined by
where
In a sound wave, the complementary variable to sound pressure is the particle velocity. Together they determine the sound intensity of the wave.
Sound intensity, denoted I and measured in W·m−2 in SI units, is defined by
where
Acoustic impedance, denoted Z and measured in Pa·m−3·s in SI units, is defined by
where
Specific acoustic impedance, denoted z and measured in Pa·m−1·s in SI units, is defined by
where
The particle displacement of a progressive sine wave is given by
where
It follows that the particle velocity and the sound pressure along the direction of propagation of the sound wave x are given by
where
Taking the Laplace transforms of v and p with respect to time yields
Since , the amplitude of the specific acoustic impedance is given by