HW 6.2: Sound Waves and Hearing

What are sound waves?

• Vibrations that pass through the molecules of a medium

• Light waves that travel through materials

• Electrical signals that travel through the air

• Particles that move in a straight line

What type of wave is sound?

• Longitudinal wave

• Transverse wave

• Both longitudinal and transverse

• None of these

Compressions are regions where the particles are ___________, whereas rarefactions are regions where the particles are ____________.

• moving fast; moving slow

• moving slow; moving fast

• closest together; furthest apart

• furthest apart; closest together

Sound travels fastest through:

• solids

• liquids

• gases

• Sound travels at the same speed through all of these

Why does sound travel faster in solids than in liquids and gases?

• Solids have heavier particles

• Solids have less particles

• Solids are denser

• Solids have lighter particles

Which of the following correctly describes how human hearing works?

• The sound causes the ear drum to vibrate which directly transforms it into electric signals sent to the brain

• The sound travels through the ear canal directly to the brain, which registers the vibrations as sounds

• The sound interacts with the cochlea which vibrates as a result, and then a signal is sent through the ear canal that reaches the brain

• The sound causes the eardrum to vibrate, which is transmitted to the cochlea through the semicircular canals and is converted into an electric signal sent to the brain

For human hearing, higher frequencies are registered as __________

• higher volume

• lower volume

• higher pitch

• lower pitch

For human hearing, more intense (stronger) vibrations are registered as ____________

• higher volume

• lower volume

• higher pitch

• lower pitch

What is the normal range of frequencies that humans can hear?

• 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz

• 2 Hz to 20 Hz

• 200 Hz to 200,000 Hz

• 20 Hz to 200 Hz

Why does the range of our hearing normally decrease as we get older?

• Wear and tear of the eardrum

• Wear and tear of the cochlea

• Wear and tear of the semicircular canals

• Wear and tear of the ear canal