Download Elise_Harais_annotated bib #3

Annotated Bibliography #3
Elise Harais
October 20, 2010
5/6 Roundy
Source:
Compton's by Britannica. (2010). Parts of the Ear and Hearing. Retrieved October
7, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition database.
Annotation:
The ear has three sections (inner ear, middle ear, and outer ear) that each
complete different jobs that help the brain understand different sounds. There are also
three sections of the outer ear, the auricle, the external auditory meatus, and the
tympanic membrane. It takes the brain a long process before it receives the sounds.
First the auricle takes in the sound waves and sends them through a tube (the external
auditory meatus). This tunnel then leads to the tympanic membrane, or eardrum, which
separates the outer ear from the middle ear. The middle ear contains three tiny
connected bones called the ossicles. Next, the eardrum vibrates when the sound waves
hit against it. The vibrations move through the ossicles into the opening in the inner ear
called the round window. The round window’s membrane also sends vibrations through
the ear. These vibrations from the round window then travel into a fluid that fills the
cochlea, which is a coiled up tube like a snail shell. The organ of Corti, in the cochlea,
officially enables someone to hear. There are tiny hair-like nerve endings that extend
through the cochlea. The little nerve endings touch the “roof membrane” also known as
the tectorial membrane. As the vibrations pass through the inner ear, they create waves
in the cochlear fluid. Other electrochemical nerves send the impulses generated by the
wave motions to the cochlear part of the acoustic nerve which then carries these
impulses to the brain where the sound can be identified.
Reflection: This source is important to my project because I need to know how sound
travels in the ear in order to see if that can be one of the causes for my results. This
source was very helpful to me because I told me exactly how sound waves travel in the
ear and into the brain. I can use this in my project by using it as a suggestion for a
possible outcome. I would say yes and no, yes because now I know how the frequency
travel through the ear, but also no, because it really didn’t change my personal thoughts
or predictions for the results.