The Ear and How It Works

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The Ear and How It Hears
The ear is one of the most important organs of the body. Not only does it serve to keep the body balanced, but most importantly it give us the ability to hear. When a noise is made it makes a sound wave. When the sound wave makes it to the ear it makes its way through the three sections of the ear. The ear is able to pick up sound waves and transfer them into nerve impulses that can be read by the brain.
Background:
A sound wave is pressure variations in air. Sound waves move through air the same as a wave in water. A sound wave is caused by an objects vibrations that cause the air surrounding it to vibrate. When the air vibrates it, the ear drum picks up the vibrations and translates them to the brain. Then the brain interprets the translations (Owens). Sound is the vibration of matter. Sound cannot travel in a vacuum. Sound is a longitudinal wave. Rapid vibrations of the object create longitudinal or compression waves of sound (Kurtus).
Sound has specific characteristics. Sound has wavelengths, frequency, amplitude, and speed or velocity. Wavelength is the distance from one crest of the wave to another. The speed or velocity of sound is 1130 feet/second or 770 miles per hour at room temperature. The frequency of sound is the rate at which wave passes a given point. To find frequency the velocity must be divided by the wavelength. The final characteristic of a sound wave is its amplitude. Sound is a compression wave. The amplitude is by how much the wave is compressed (kurtus).
When a sound is made a vibration is sent through the air. The vibrations are let off by the source, and this leads to something such as an ear to pick up the noise. Once the detector has picked up the wave, the wave must be ...

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...s able to process sound from the faintest of noise to the obnoxiously loud noises without hesitation. The complexities of the ear and how it is able to pick up sound waves is an amazing feat of creation.

Bibliography:

Henderson, Tom. "Sound is a Pressure Wave." Sound is a Pressure Wave. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. .
Jacobson, Barry . "2.972 How The Human Ear Works." 2.972 How The Human Ear Works. Michael L. Culpepper, 1 Jan. 1998. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. .
Kurtus, Ron. "Overview of Sound Waves." Overview of Sound Waves . N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. .
Owen, David. "How Sound Waves Work." Sound Waves. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. .

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