Intensity Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Iowa State University, Ames, IA Intensity Sound is a wave and waves have amplitude , or height. Amplitude is a measure of energy. The more energy a wave has, the higher its amplitude. As amplitude increases, intensity also increases.
Intensity is the amount of energy a sound has over an area.
The same sound is more intense if you hear it in a smaller area. In general, we call sounds with a higher intensity louder. We are used to measuring the sounds we hear in loudness. The sound of your friend yelling is loud, while the sound of your own breathing is very soft. Loudness cannot be assigned a specific number, but intensity can.