How We Hear

How does a vibration in the air become a voice you recognize? These quizzes follow sound on its trip through the ear and into the brain, naming every part it passes along the way.

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1. How Hearing Works

Every sound you hear starts as a tiny movement in the air and ends as a signal your brain can understand. This quiz follows that journey step by step, through the ear and along the path to the brain.

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12 questions

2. Parts of the Ear

The ear is much more than the part you can see. Most of it sits hidden inside your head, where a chain of tiny structures collects sound and passes it along.

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12 questions

Parts of the Ear and How Hearing Works

One quiz follows the process, from sound waves hitting the eardrum to the hair cells that turn vibrations into nerve signals for the brain. The other tours the anatomy: the outer ear you can see, the eardrum, the three tiny bones called ossicles, and the fluid-filled inner ear with its snail-shaped cochlea.

Both sets suit beginners and students reviewing for a biology class. You will also cover pitch and frequency, decibels, and why having two ears helps you tell where a sound is coming from.

Did You Know?

The three bones of the middle ear are nicknamed for their shapes: the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup. The stirrup, or stapes, is the smallest bone in the human body.

Your ears also help keep you upright. The semicircular canals in the inner ear sense the movement of your head, which is why an inner ear problem can leave you feeling dizzy.

How the Quizzes Work

Each quiz is short, about five minutes, and both are free to play as often as you like. Start with how hearing works, then put names to the parts that make it happen.