Sound Part Two: The Ear And Pitch And Loudness

Question 1

What is pitch determined by? Explain

Answer 1

Determined by a sound waves’ frequency change. The lower the frequency the lower the pitch. The higher the frequency the higher the pitch

Question 2

What does the loudness of a sound depend on? Explain

Answer 2

Depends on the amplitude. A quiet sound means a small wave so a smaller distance from the peak to the rest like (amplitude). A loud sound means a bigger wave and a larger distance between the peak to the rest line (amplitude).

Question 3

For both the quiet and loud sounds, the wave will have the same period. What does that mean it looks like.

Answer 3

The width is the same. The distance from peak to peak/crest to crest etc.

Question 4

Sound is a longitudinal wave so how can we tell its amplitude and frequency?

Answer 4

Using a oscilloscope

Question 5

What does an oscilloscope do?

Answer 5

They can be used to see a sound wave in the form of a transverse wave as it shows the shape of the vibrations sound creates.

Question 6

What is the hearing range for humans?

Answer 6

20Hz to 20,000Hz

Question 7

What is hertz?

Answer 7

It’s the unit for frequency, it tells us how many vibrations something manages per second

Question 8

Sound travels through the ear so we can hear things. What does it travel through the ear in?

Answer 8

Vibrations through the air

Question 9

What collects sound through the air?

Answer 9

The outside part of your ear, the pinna

Question 10

Where does the pinna take the air after collecting it from the air?

Answer 10

It funnels it down the auditory canals

Question 11

There is a bit of stretched skin in your ear; what’s it called?

Answer 11

The eardrum

Question 12

What happens after the sound gets funnelled down auditory canals?

Answer 12

It will cause the eardrum to vibrate causing vibrations to pass onto three small bones in your ear

Question 13

The ear drum passes sound into three small bones; what’re they called and what do they pass sound onto?

Answer 13

Ossicles pass sound into semi circular canals

Question 14

What happens after sound passes through the semi circular canals?

Answer 14

It goes into a snail shaped tube thing called the cochlea

Question 15

What happens when sound gets passed to the cochlea?

Answer 15

It’s filled with liquid and the vibrations of sound cause hairs in the liquid to move which sends electrical signals down to the brain

Question 16

In order for the cochlea to send electrical signals to the brain, it has to pass something: what is it?

Answer 16

The auditory nerve

Question 17

How is a microphone similar to the ear?

Answer 17

Sound vibrates the diaphragm, which converts the vibrations into electrical pulses and sends the pulses to a receiver

Question 18

What three fancy names plus two other names do damage to the ear?

Answer 18

Prebycusis
Sensorineural loss
Conductive loss
Eardrum damage/burst
Blockage of the auditory canal

Question 19

Sounds above 90 decibels does damage to the hearing in the long run; sounds over 140 do damage in the moment and permanently; this has something to do with the ear drum: what is it?

Answer 19

These loud sounds cause damage to the ear drum and may even cause it to burst. It can grow back, but with grow with scar tissue, changing its ability to vibrate properly.

Question 20

How does blockage of the inner ear or the auditory canal limit hearing?

Answer 20

The noise will be muffled
And will block and/or modify the transmission of vibrations

Question 21

What is conductive loss?

Answer 21

Loud noises can harm the ossicles. They could get disconnected and this will damage hearing significantly. They can also get calcium deposited due to age and that aloe limits vibration transmission. Can be fixed by surgery

Question 22

What is sensorineural loss?

Answer 22

Damage to the cochlea that cannot be repaired. If a loud vibration gets to the cochlea it could break the hair cells so they can’t bend to vibrate. The hairs could also be made stiffer so they can’t reload to vibrations as well

Question 23

What is prebycusis?

Answer 23

You’ll gradually lose hearing as you grow older and age related hearing loss is called prebycusis. It’s the most common and is cause by loudness, noise exposure and aging.

Question 24

What in the ear limits the human hearing?

Answer 24

The ear drum. The shape and size of it