Sound and hearing webquest

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Do you want to know about your ear? Then lend me yours, as we guide you through this process.
The ear is a very delicate organ concerned with the sense of hearing sounds. Sounds are produced when objects vibrate. They travel through
materials in the form of waves. But how does the ear help us to hear? Why do we have two ears? How does the ear work? Scroll through these pages to find the answers to these and other questions.
Step 1:
  1. Find a partner. Examine each other ears and compare sizes and parts. Share this information with the rest of the class
  2. From your observations, determine how sound is collected and moved into the ear

Step 2:
  1. Observe from video the workings of the ear. Are You Listening video
  2. Read the article from Kids Health for a general overview of the ear. 
  3. Download and Label the diagram of the ear (Human Ear Diagram)
  4. In your exercise book, explain in your own words how the ear works using diagrams to show the processes.
  5. Explain how the ear can be protected.
  6. Identify problems associated with hearing.
  7. Read the article on the Ear and write a description for each part of the ear you labeled in your diagram.  
  8. What is the name given to the doctor who specializes in caring for the ear?
  9. How does your ear work? Make a flow chart that illustrates how our  ears work. Be specific. Don’t cut corners and leavout important  information….
  10. Watch this movie clip.It illustrates how the cochlea responds to  sound waves.It is pretty  cool…
  11. Our ears also help with our balance or sense of equilibrium.Use the link below to write a description of the role the ear plays in equilibrium. (you’ll need to scroll down the page to find the information)  http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/H/Hearing.html

Sept 3:
Take this self-test to see how well your hearing is working.
 http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders/default.htm

Step 4:   Research 
  1. Select an animal of your choice. Before you begin check with your teacher to see if your animal has been selected. If it has, you will need to select a different animal. 
  2. Work together with your partner and write a  research paper on how your animals response to sounds in their 
    environment. Record any other facts, examples, or data you learned about how animals  respond to sounds in their environment. You will then decide on how you will present your information to the rest of the class.


  
Did you know...?

~Dogs can hear 2 to 5 times better than  humans can.  Why is that?

~At a temperature of 20 degrees C sound travels  350 m/s. As the temperature rises, the speed of sound gets faster.  How can  that be?

~Sound is measured in units called decibels (dB).  The human ear  can hear as low as 0 dB.  A human whisper is 10 dB and a rocket pad launch is  180 dB.

~Dolphins have the best hearing of all mammals