How the Ear Works

The scene takes the form of a giant ear; the explorable canal leads through from the outer ear to the middle and inner ear. As sound waves are transferred through vibrations in the air, students will be able to observe their effect on the different parts of the ear as they travel through the auditory canal and beyond. Journey through the ear and observe how the ear drum, ossicles and cochlea respond to vibrations that we detect as sound.

# Learning Objectives

Describe the structure of the ear.{.info}

Describe how sound is transferred through the ear.{.info}

Explain how sound waves are converted to electrical impulses.{.info}

# Outer Ear{.objective .objective1}

In this section, a description of the outer ear will be outlined. As the students observe the sound waves oscillating, they can journey through the outer ear towards the ear drum and watch it vibrating.
Students will be asked to observe the ear drum and identify the impact the sound waves have on the vibration of the ear drum.

# Middle Ear{.objective .objective2}

In this section, a description of the inner ear will be provided. Focussing on the ossicles, they will observe how they move due to the vibrating ear drum, and importantly, how they interact with each other to generate high and low-pressure points at the base of the anvil.
Students will be asked to observe the ossicles and describe how the ear drum affects their movement. They will also be asked to consider what would happen if any of the ossicles were removed.

# Inner Ear{.objective .objective3}

In this section, a description of the cochlea and the auditory ciliated cells will be provided. An outline of how the fluid filled cochlea are affected by the pressure change generated by the anvil be given, and how the ripples generated within the fluid causes the cilia on the cells within the cochlea move in time with the sound waves.
Students will be asked to identify the cilia and where the cells are located. They will be asked to observe and describe their behaviour as the fluid ripples.

**Teacher Resources**

### Download Teacher Notes

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/803255/files/How%20the+Ear+Works+Teacher+Notes+1.pdf?date=1685463190&size=688494&md5=82ff876db1b260cf61f471511364ea0c)

### Student Quiz Answers Document

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/803258/files/How%20the+Ear+Works+Answers.pdf?date=1685463373&size=398849&md5=02f04a2211d2922f3366f62830f52bf9)

### Download Student Quiz Document

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/803256/files/How%20the+Ear+Works+Quiz.pdf?date=1685463282&size=94716&md5=8c6877d73ac03b090ff91f5279843ed8)