Hearing

You have already learned about ways vision helps humans gain information about the outside world. Hearing is the second major sense. As sound waves travel, their amplitude determines how loud something is heard, and their length determines whether something is high or low pitched. As you will discover in this topic, the structure of the ear helps you gain a sense of sound.

Essential Questions

• How do the principles of sound waves correspond to the sense of hearing?
• What are the parts of the ear and how do they combine to help sense sounds?