BIO202 COMPREHENSIVE LATEST EXAMS
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Umami foods are detected through many mechanisms, but which of the other
classes of taste does it most closely resemble for taste perception? - ✔✔Sweet
✔✔What makes up the following parts of the ear:
a) Outer ear? (2)
b) Middle ear? (4)
c) Inner ear? (2) - ✔✔a) Pinna and auditory canal
b) Tympanic membrane, Malleus, Incus, Staples, Tympanic Cavity
c) Semicircular Canals, Cochlea
✔✔What is the function of the nasopharynx? - ✔✔Where the auditory tube of outer ear
leads to to guide air from the nasal cavity to the oropharynx (middle of throat) and help
equalize air pressure in the middle ear through the auditory (Eustachian) tubes
✔✔The malleus, incus, and stapes are _____ (type of body part). How do they transmit
sound waves? - ✔✔Bones. Transmit sound waves from tympanic membrane to oval
window of cochlea (inner ear). These wavelengths travel to round window of cochlea
and interact with hair cells in the basilar membrane
, ✔✔Organ of Corti - ✔✔Lines the tympanic duct of the cochlea (inner ear) and contains
hair cells in the basilar membrane to help process sound waves (which mvoe in wave-
like function to interact with the tectorial membrane -- which is the receptor cell)
✔✔What type of movement in the basilar membrane occurs in response to sound
waves? - ✔✔Middle ear ossicle movement (wave-like flexing back and forth)
✔✔Explain the role of stereochilia in processing sound waves in the ear - ✔✔Sound
waves cause the basilar membrane to vibrate, moving the hair cells so that their
stereocilia are pushed against (or pulled away from) the tectorial membrane. This bends
the stereocilia, opening mechanically gated ion channels when they bend toward the
tallest stereocilium. K⁺ enters the hair cell from the endolymph, depolarizing it and
causing neurotransmitter release onto auditory neurons. These neurons then send
signals to the brain, where the sound is perceived. Bending in the opposite direction
reduces neurotransmitter release and auditory signaling
✔✔Number of hair cells in utricle vs saccule - ✔✔UTRICLE: 30,000
SACCULE: 16,000
46,000 total
✔✔Hair cells of the utricle and saccule lie below a _____ layer with the stereocilia
projecting where? - ✔✔Gelantinous layer; hair cells project INTO the gelatin
✔✔Within the gelatin layer above the utricle and saccule there are crystals made of?
What do these do as the head moves? What does this help the body do? - ✔✔Calcium
carbonate crystals. When the head tilts, they move with gravity, bending the stereocilia
in the utricle and/or saccule (depending on type of movement). Bending of stereocilia
stimulates neurons, providing the body with help in BALANCE
✔✔Branch of what nerve deals with balance? - ✔✔Vestibulocochlear cranial nerve of
the vestibular branch
✔✔How do the semicircular canals detect rotational (angular) acceleration? - ✔✔Each
semicircular canal contains endolymph and an enlarged region called the ampulla,
which houses hair cells embedded in a gelatinous cupula. When the head begins to
rotate, the bony canal moves immediately, but the endolymph lags behind due to inertia.
This causes the endolymph to push against the cupula, bending the stereocilia of the
hair cells. Bending the stereocilia toward the kinocilium depolarizes the hair cells and
increases the firing rate of the vestibular nerve, while bending them away from the
kinocilium hyperpolarizes the cells and decreases firing. At rest, vestibular neurons fire
at a baseline rate. During rotation, one side of the head increases its firing rate (tilting
left) while the opposite side (tilting to right) decreases its firing rate, allowing the brain to
determine the direction and speed of head rotation. When rotation stops, the endolymph
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Umami foods are detected through many mechanisms, but which of the other
classes of taste does it most closely resemble for taste perception? - ✔✔Sweet
✔✔What makes up the following parts of the ear:
a) Outer ear? (2)
b) Middle ear? (4)
c) Inner ear? (2) - ✔✔a) Pinna and auditory canal
b) Tympanic membrane, Malleus, Incus, Staples, Tympanic Cavity
c) Semicircular Canals, Cochlea
✔✔What is the function of the nasopharynx? - ✔✔Where the auditory tube of outer ear
leads to to guide air from the nasal cavity to the oropharynx (middle of throat) and help
equalize air pressure in the middle ear through the auditory (Eustachian) tubes
✔✔The malleus, incus, and stapes are _____ (type of body part). How do they transmit
sound waves? - ✔✔Bones. Transmit sound waves from tympanic membrane to oval
window of cochlea (inner ear). These wavelengths travel to round window of cochlea
and interact with hair cells in the basilar membrane
, ✔✔Organ of Corti - ✔✔Lines the tympanic duct of the cochlea (inner ear) and contains
hair cells in the basilar membrane to help process sound waves (which mvoe in wave-
like function to interact with the tectorial membrane -- which is the receptor cell)
✔✔What type of movement in the basilar membrane occurs in response to sound
waves? - ✔✔Middle ear ossicle movement (wave-like flexing back and forth)
✔✔Explain the role of stereochilia in processing sound waves in the ear - ✔✔Sound
waves cause the basilar membrane to vibrate, moving the hair cells so that their
stereocilia are pushed against (or pulled away from) the tectorial membrane. This bends
the stereocilia, opening mechanically gated ion channels when they bend toward the
tallest stereocilium. K⁺ enters the hair cell from the endolymph, depolarizing it and
causing neurotransmitter release onto auditory neurons. These neurons then send
signals to the brain, where the sound is perceived. Bending in the opposite direction
reduces neurotransmitter release and auditory signaling
✔✔Number of hair cells in utricle vs saccule - ✔✔UTRICLE: 30,000
SACCULE: 16,000
46,000 total
✔✔Hair cells of the utricle and saccule lie below a _____ layer with the stereocilia
projecting where? - ✔✔Gelantinous layer; hair cells project INTO the gelatin
✔✔Within the gelatin layer above the utricle and saccule there are crystals made of?
What do these do as the head moves? What does this help the body do? - ✔✔Calcium
carbonate crystals. When the head tilts, they move with gravity, bending the stereocilia
in the utricle and/or saccule (depending on type of movement). Bending of stereocilia
stimulates neurons, providing the body with help in BALANCE
✔✔Branch of what nerve deals with balance? - ✔✔Vestibulocochlear cranial nerve of
the vestibular branch
✔✔How do the semicircular canals detect rotational (angular) acceleration? - ✔✔Each
semicircular canal contains endolymph and an enlarged region called the ampulla,
which houses hair cells embedded in a gelatinous cupula. When the head begins to
rotate, the bony canal moves immediately, but the endolymph lags behind due to inertia.
This causes the endolymph to push against the cupula, bending the stereocilia of the
hair cells. Bending the stereocilia toward the kinocilium depolarizes the hair cells and
increases the firing rate of the vestibular nerve, while bending them away from the
kinocilium hyperpolarizes the cells and decreases firing. At rest, vestibular neurons fire
at a baseline rate. During rotation, one side of the head increases its firing rate (tilting
left) while the opposite side (tilting to right) decreases its firing rate, allowing the brain to
determine the direction and speed of head rotation. When rotation stops, the endolymph
