The ear

Question 1

what are sound waves

Answer 1

Sound waves are mechanical waves which need a medium to travel through and cannot travel in a vacuum.

Question 2

The frequency of a sound wave determines what? explain

Answer 2

the pitch; a low frequency (longer wavelength) produces a low-pitched sound and a high frequency produces a high-pitched sound. A larger amplitude produces a louder sound and a lower amplitude produces a softer sound.

Question 3

what do we use the decibel scale for

Answer 3

used to measure the intensity of a sound and is based on how humans react to sounds.

Question 4

Pinna

Answer 4

it captures sound and is part of the outer ear

Question 5

Auditory canal

Answer 5

part of the outer ear and it carries sound to the ear drum.

Question 6

Ear drum

Answer 6

part of the middle ear. Its a sensitive tissue that vibrates when stimulated by a sound wave. It transmits vibrations to the ossicles.

Question 7

Ossicles

Answer 7

It transmits vibrations from the ear drum to the inner ear. Vibrations go from the ear drum, to the hammer, to the anvil, to the stirrup and finally to the liquid in the ear.

Question 8

Eustachian tube

Answer 8

part of the middle ear. This channel is used to balance out the air pressure on either side of the ear drum so that it can vibrate properly.

Question 9

Vestibule

Answer 9

he entrance to the cochlea and contains nerve cells that detect body position and are sensitive to gravity, the cells produce nerve impulses that are sent to the cerebellum to help keep our bodies balanced.

Question 10

Semicircular canals

Answer 10

they are three rings filled with fluid and each oriented along different axis (x,y,z). When movement takes place, the info on the bodys balance is captured by receptor cells that react to the motion of the liquid inside the canals.

Question 11

Cochlea

Answer 11

the transformer for the ear because it transforms vibrations into nerve impulses. The vibrations are passed along the stirrup to the fluid inside the cochlea. Tiny hairs are stimulated by vibrations. Each hair reacts to its own frequency to figure out the pitch. Vibrations are turned into nerve impulses that are sent to the auditory nerve and to the brain for analysis.

Question 12

hearing

Answer 12

Hearing starts with a stimulus that creates vibrations of the air particles. These vibrations travel through the ear canal and are transmitted to the eardrum then to the ossicles until they reach the vestibule.

Question 13

Stimulus —– recipient —– transformer —– conductor —– analyser

Answer 13

Sound waves — ear — cochlea auditory nerve — brain