Name ___Dana Penrose_____________________ The Auditory System

Use the following terms to complete the fill-in-the-blank worksheet below. frequency timbre ear drum outer ear auditory cortex hair cells amplitude middle ear sound waves cochlea

basilar membrane

auditory nerve

(1) _sound waves___ are produced when objects vibrate, causing regions of high and low pressure to travel through the air. Each sound wave has a specific (2) _frequency______ which is related to pitch, (3) _amplitude___ which is related to loudness, and waveform/complexity which is related to (4) _timbre___. When sound waves reach the (5) _outer ear___________, they are captured by the pinna and funneled through the ear canal to the (6) _ear drum___________, causing the ear drum to vibrate. These vibrations are passed through the tiny bones of the (7) _middle ear_________, which amplify the vibrations. The vibrations are transmitted to the (8) _cochlea___________ in the inner ear, where they form ripples on the (9) basilar membrane__, bending the (10) hair cells___, which convert the vibrations into a pattern of neural impulses which the brain can interpret. The impulses are carried by (11) auditory nerve___ to the (12) auditory cortex_for processing and interpretation.