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Chapter 7: Hearing and Balance

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Chapter 7: Hearing and Balance

15 problems · 0 figures

7-1 §7.1 source ↗

Which of the following is an example of an auditory signal?
  1. a.
    A bird’s song.
  2. b.
    Water splashing in a creek.
  3. c.
    Wind blowing through the leaves of a tree.
  4. d.
    The buzz of a mosquito’s wings.

Answer

A. A bird’s song.

7-3 §7.1 source ↗

What does the frequency of an acoustic wave measure?
  1. a.
    How fast air molecules are displaced.
  2. b.
    How much the air pressure changes between compression and rarefaction.
  3. c.
    How rapidly the air pressure changes between compression and rarefaction.
  4. d.
    How often an animal produces a sound over the course of a day.

Answer

C. How rapidly the air pressure changes between compression and rarefaction.

7-5 §7.1 source ↗

The ability of sound waves to travel around solid objects is known as:
  1. a.
    reverberation.
  2. b.
    diffraction.
  3. c.
    resonance.
  4. d.
    interference.

Answer

B. diffraction.

7-7 §7.2 source ↗

Which part of the ear separates complex sounds into component frequencies?
  1. a.
    The Organ of Corti
  2. b.
    The basilar membrane
  3. c.
    The scala vestibuli
  4. d.
    The tectorial membrane

Answer

A. The Organ of Corti

7-9 §7.2 source ↗

Which of the following is a common cause of conductive hearing loss?
  1. a.
    Damage to stereocilia by high-intensity sounds
  2. b.
    Damage to the auditory nerve
  3. c.
    Death of hair cells from ototoxic antibiotics
  4. d.
    Infection of the middle ear

Answer

D. Infection of the middle ear

7-11 §7.2 source ↗

Which region in the auditory pathway only receives input from the contralateral ear?
  1. a.
    The cochlear nucleus
  2. b.
    The lateral superior olive
  3. c.
    The medial geniculate body
  4. d.
    None of the above

Answer

D. None of the above

7-13 §7.2 source ↗

What is the role of the medial geniculate body in the ascending auditory pathway?
  1. a.
    It is the primary gateway for auditory information to reach the cortex.
  2. b.
    It forms synapses with the outer hair cells of the cochlea.
  3. c.
    It determines the location of sound sources using differences in timing and level of stimuli.
  4. d.
    It integrates auditory, visual, and somatosensory input to create a unified map of space relative to head location.

Answer

A. It is the primary gateway for auditory information to reach the cortex.

7-15 §7.3 source ↗

The azimuth of a sound source refers to:
  1. a.
    the elevation of a sound source.
  2. b.
    the angle left or right on a horizontal plane.
  3. c.
    the distance of a sound source.
  4. d.
    the perceptual contents of a sound source.

Answer

B. the angle left or right on a horizontal plane.

7-17 §7.3 source ↗

What is the function of a coincidence detector in the auditory system?
  1. a.
    To determine the distance of a sound source.
  2. b.
    To compare the timing difference between inputs from the two ears.
  3. c.
    To compare the difference in level of inputs from the two ears.
  4. d.
    To identify whether a sound source is periodic or aperiodic.

Answer

B. To compare the timing difference between inputs from the two ears.

7-19 §7.3 source ↗

A group of speech sounds that can be used interchangeably is called a:
  1. a.
    phoneme.
  2. b.
    lexeme.
  3. c.
    phone.
  4. d.
    syllable.

Answer

A. phoneme.

7-21 §7.4 source ↗

Which structure within the vestibular system is responsible for sensing the dynamic forces created by angular movements?
  1. a.
    The cochlea
  2. b.
    The semicircular canals and ampullae
  3. c.
    The utricle and saccule
  4. d.
    The otoliths

Answer

B. The semicircular canals and ampullae

7-23 §7.4 source ↗

Ascending axons from the vestibular ganglion form synapses in the:
  1. a.
    cerebellum.
  2. b.
    oculomotor nucleus.
  3. c.
    medial superior olive.
  4. d.
    vestibular nuclear complex.

Answer

D. vestibular nuclear complex.

Fill in the Blank 7.1 §7.2 source ↗

The balance of air pressure on the two sides of the tympanic membrane is maintained by the ________.

Answer

Eustachian tube(s)

Fill in the Blank 7.3 §7.2 source ↗

The axons from vestibular ganglion neurons enter the brain through cranial nerve ________.

Answer

VIII

Fill in the Blank 7.5 §7.3 source ↗

The ability of the brain to change and adapt in response to experiences is called ________.

Answer

plasticity

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Problems and answers are adapted from Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience by Elizabeth D. Kirby, Melissa J. Glenn, Noah J. Sandstrom and Christina L. Williams, OpenStax, and are used under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-behavioral-neuroscience/pages/1-introduction. Illustrations: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. This adaptation is released under the same licence, is non-commercial, and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by OpenStax or Rice University.