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9618 · 1.2.2

Multimedia - Sound — practice questions

Practice and worked examples for 9618 Multimedia - Sound. Short previews only — attempt the full question in MarkScheme against the official scheme.

Worked example 1

Calculate the file size in kilobytes (KB) for a 25-second mono audio clip sampled at 22,050 Hz with a 16-bit sampling resolution. Give your answer to one decimal place. (Assume 1 KB = 1024 bytes).

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  1. Identify the formula:<br>File Size (bits) = Sampling Rate ×\times Resolution ×\times Time ×\times Channels<br><br>2. Substitute the values:<br>File Size (bits) = 22,050 Hz ×\times 16 bits ×\times 25 s ×\times 1 (mono)<br><br>3. Calculate the total bits:<br>File Size = 8,820,000 bits<br><br>4. Convert bits to bytes:<br>File Size (bytes) = 8,820,000 / 8 = 1,102,500 bytes<br><br>5. Convert bytes to kilobytes (KB):<br>File Size (KB) = 1,102,500 / 1024 = 1076.66... KB<br><br>6. Round to one decimal place:<br>Final Answer: 1076.7 KB

Worked example 2

A 4-minute stereo music track is recorded with a sampling rate of 48 kHz and a bit depth of 24 bits. Calculate the file size in megabytes (MB). Give your answer to two decimal places. (Assume 1 MB = 1024 KB, 1 KB = 1024 bytes).

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  1. Convert all units to base units:<br>Time: 4 minutes ×\times 60 seconds/minute = 240 s<br>Sampling Rate: 48 kHz ×\times 1000 = 48,000 Hz<br>Channels: 2 (stereo)<br>Resolution: 24 bits<br><br>2. Use the formula:<br>File Size (bits) = 48,000 ×\times 24 ×\times 240 ×\times 2<br><br>3. Calculate total bits:<br>File Size = 552,960,000 bits<br><br>4. Convert bits to bytes:<br>File Size (bytes) = 552,960,000 / 8 = 69,120,000 bytes<br><br>5. Convert bytes to kilobytes (KB):<br>File Size (KB) = 69,120,000 / 1024 = 67,500 KB<br><br>6. Convert kilobytes to megabytes (MB):<br>File Size (MB) = 67,500 / 1024 = 65.9179... MB<br><br>7. Round to two decimal places:<br>Final Answer: 65.92 MB