How the ear works sound waves are collected by your pinna external ear and funneled down into your ear canal. The ear has the ability to discriminate intensities over a 100,000 fold difference in energy. Still louder sounds can cause pain and damage the structures of the inner ear. The major function of the ear is to transmit sound to the brain through the parts of the ear. For example, the ear has three main portions, each having its own role to play. Explain to students, this is a short play about sound and how we hear it. This science comprehension includes some interesting facts about the ear and how it functions. Lets see how our ears convert back and forth motion of air into a beautiful experience we call sound. The inner ear sits on the other side of the eardrum and contains the cochlea which converts sound vibrations into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain. Sound symphony sid the science kid the jim henson company. The major functions of the ear are to maintain the balance and equilibrium of the body and to aid in hearing capabilities.
The pinna and external auditory canal form the outer ear, which is separated from the middle ear by the tympanic membrane. The task of all hearing organs is to analyze environmental sounds and transmit the results of that analysis to the brain. To demonstrate how the ear works and to show how sensitive the ear is to stimulus to make students aware of the effects sounds and noises can have on the ear vocabulary. Students will make a model ear using common materials. Pdf the hearing system, also called also the auditory system. Lets say i hit the tuning fork which vibrates at 256 hz.
Taken together, the two mechanisms should enhance, as an ideal transformer, the sound pressure at the cochlea. Read more about all of the parts of the ear and their functions. The malleus connects to the eardrum linking it to the outer ear and the stapes smallest bone in the body connects to the inner ear. How your brain understands what your ear hears nih science. The human ear facts and functions of the ear an organ of. One of the very advanced sensitive organs of the human body, the ear. Knowledge application use your knowledge to answer a question about the purpose of wax in the ear additional learning learn more about the ear using the lesson called how the ear works. In essence, our ears work to alter the acoustic stimulus that enters and move through our ear canals, into a form of neural code that our. For more information on ears and healthy hearing, visit blog. It is made up of three main parts, outer 1, middle 2 and inner 3 and 4. The sensory organs of the eye, ear, tongue and skin are each sensitive to specific forms of energy. Sounds enter the ear canal when these sound waves reach the ear, they travel down the ear canal. Nih medical arts sound waves enter the outer ear and travel through a narrow passageway called the ear canal, which leads to the eardrum.
One of the very advanced sensitive organs of the human body, the ear detects, transmits. The outer ear is the pinna, and its function is to gather the sound waves like a funnel and transmit to the middle ear through the ear canal. The middle ear is a small, airfilled space containing three tiny bones called the malleus, incus and stapes but collectively called the ossicles. They will then make different sounds to test out how the ear works. The human ear see all parts of the ear and their functions. The middle ear houses three ossicles, the malleus, incus and stapes and is connected to the back of the nose by the eustachian tube. Figures from the inner ear and its mechanical response in funda mentals of. Learn how the ear works, and how were able to understand sounds.