Multiple Choice
7.1 Acoustic Cues and Signals
1. Which of the following is an example of an auditory signal?
a. A bird’s song.
b. Water splashing in a creek.
c. Wind blowing through the leaves of a tree.
d. The buzz of a mosquito’s wings.
Answer: a
2. Why is the sense of hearing especially valuable for communication?
a. Because sound is only detected at short distances.
b. Because sound can travel long distances and around obstacles.
c. Because hearing is more reliable than other senses.
d. Because only sound can carry information about the identity of individuals.
Answer: b
3. What does the frequency of an acoustic wave measure?
a. How fast air molecules are displaced.
b. How much the air pressure changes between compression and rarefaction.
c. How rapidly the air pressure changes between compression and rarefaction.
d. How often an animal produces a sound over the course of a day.
Answer: c
4. The perception of pitch is primarily related to:
a. the amplitude of a sound.
b. the frequency of a sound.
c. whether the sound is periodic or aperiodic.
d. the phase of the sound.
Answer: b
5. The ability of sound waves to travel around solid objects is known as:
a. reverberation.
b. diffraction.
c. resonance.
d. interference.
, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience Instructor Answer Guide
Answer: b
7.2 How Does Acoustic Information Enter the Brain?
6. Which middle ear bone is connected to the tympanic membrane?
a. The malleus
b. The incus
c. The stapes
d. The tensor tympani
Answer: a
7. Which part of the ear separates complex sounds into component frequencies?
a. The Organ of Corti
b. The basilar membrane
c. The scala vestibuli
d. The tectorial membrane
Answer: a
8. What is the function of the inner hair cells in the cochlea?
a. To convert the physical energy of acoustic waves into neural signals.
b. To protect the cochlea from overstimulation.
c. To amplify low-intensity sounds.
d. To regulate the pressure within the cochlea.
Answer: a
9. Which of the following is a common cause of conductive hearing loss?
a. Damage to stereocilia by high-intensity sounds
b. Damage to the auditory nerve
c. Death of hair cells from ototoxic antibiotics
d. Infection of the middle ear
Answer: d
10. All of the axons in the auditory nerve form synapses in the:
a. medial superior olive.
b. cochlear nucleus.
c. inferior colliculus.
d. spiral ganglion.
Answer: b
2
Updated October 2024
7.1 Acoustic Cues and Signals
1. Which of the following is an example of an auditory signal?
a. A bird’s song.
b. Water splashing in a creek.
c. Wind blowing through the leaves of a tree.
d. The buzz of a mosquito’s wings.
Answer: a
2. Why is the sense of hearing especially valuable for communication?
a. Because sound is only detected at short distances.
b. Because sound can travel long distances and around obstacles.
c. Because hearing is more reliable than other senses.
d. Because only sound can carry information about the identity of individuals.
Answer: b
3. What does the frequency of an acoustic wave measure?
a. How fast air molecules are displaced.
b. How much the air pressure changes between compression and rarefaction.
c. How rapidly the air pressure changes between compression and rarefaction.
d. How often an animal produces a sound over the course of a day.
Answer: c
4. The perception of pitch is primarily related to:
a. the amplitude of a sound.
b. the frequency of a sound.
c. whether the sound is periodic or aperiodic.
d. the phase of the sound.
Answer: b
5. The ability of sound waves to travel around solid objects is known as:
a. reverberation.
b. diffraction.
c. resonance.
d. interference.
, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience Instructor Answer Guide
Answer: b
7.2 How Does Acoustic Information Enter the Brain?
6. Which middle ear bone is connected to the tympanic membrane?
a. The malleus
b. The incus
c. The stapes
d. The tensor tympani
Answer: a
7. Which part of the ear separates complex sounds into component frequencies?
a. The Organ of Corti
b. The basilar membrane
c. The scala vestibuli
d. The tectorial membrane
Answer: a
8. What is the function of the inner hair cells in the cochlea?
a. To convert the physical energy of acoustic waves into neural signals.
b. To protect the cochlea from overstimulation.
c. To amplify low-intensity sounds.
d. To regulate the pressure within the cochlea.
Answer: a
9. Which of the following is a common cause of conductive hearing loss?
a. Damage to stereocilia by high-intensity sounds
b. Damage to the auditory nerve
c. Death of hair cells from ototoxic antibiotics
d. Infection of the middle ear
Answer: d
10. All of the axons in the auditory nerve form synapses in the:
a. medial superior olive.
b. cochlear nucleus.
c. inferior colliculus.
d. spiral ganglion.
Answer: b
2
Updated October 2024
