Term | Definition |
stringed instrument | an instrument with one or more strings |
wind instruments | an instrument made of a hollow tube through which air can flow |
percussion instruments | an instrument that produces a musical sound when hit |
sound source | an object that produces sound |
sound reciever | an object that can detect or hear sounds |
decibel | unit of measurement of sound intensity |
pitch | how high or low a sound is |
volume | how loud or soft a sound is |
intensity | how strongly or softly a sound vibrates |
frequency | the number of vibrations in one second |
pinna | the visible part of the ear |
auditory canal | the tube through which sound travels to the eardrum |
ear drum (tympanic membrain) | a thin membrane that vibrates she sound waves reaches it |
hammer (malleus) | a tiny bone that passes vibrations from the ear drum to the anvil |
anvil (incus) | a tiny bone that passes vibrations from the hammer to the stirrup |
stirrup (stapes) | a tiny, u shaped bone that passes vibrations from the anvil to the cochlea |
cochlea | a snail shaped, fluid filled inner ear structural it is lined with cilia (tiny hairs) that move then vibrated and cause a nerve impulse to form (brain signals) |
auditory nerve | these carry electro-chemical signals from the inner ear (cochlea) to the brain |
semi-circular canals | three loops of fluid-filled tubes that are attached to the cochlea in the inner ear. they help us maintain our sense of balance. |
eustachian tube | a tube that connects the middle ear to the back of the nose; it equalizes the pressure between the middle ear and the air outside. when you pop your ears as you are changing altitude (going up a mountain or in an airplane)you are equalizing the psi. |