PSYC 230 UIUC FINAL TEST 2026 QUESTIONS WITH
CORRECT ANSWERS GRADED A+
● Sound stimulus. Answer: the periodic variations in air pressure traveling out from the
source
● Sound waves. Answer: the waves of pressure changes that occur in the air as a function of
the vibration of a source
● Medium of sound. Answer: A material (solid, liquid, or gas, or combination of these)
through which a wave travels. In water, sound travels 4x faster than it does through air.
● pure tones. Answer: A sound wave in which changes in air pressure follow a sine wave
pattern.
● amplitude. Answer: the difference between the peak and the baseline of a wave (height of
wave).
● loudness. Answer: Perceptual experience of amplitude
● Loud sounds can be dangerous. Answer: Prolonged contact to sounds over 85 dB can
eventually cause hearing loss. Sounds louder than 120 dB are painful. Sounds louder than
130 dB will generally result in immediate and permanent hearing loss.
● Frequency. Answer: The number of cycles in a sound stimulus that occur in 1 second
● Pitch. Answer: The subjective experience of frequency
● what unit is used to measure sound amplitude?. Answer: Hertz (Hz)
● What is the hearing range of humans and how does it change with age?. Answer:
20-20,000 Hz. As people age, hearing in the highest range dissipates. Lowest frequencies
tend to remain stable with age.
● Outer ear. Answer: Pinna, external auditory canal, tympanic membrane (eardrum)
● Pinna. Answer: Collects sound and funnels it into the auditory canal
● External auditory canal. Answer: conducts sound to the tympanic membrane, amplifies
specific sound frequencies.
, ● Tympanic membrane (eardrum). Answer: Thin elastic sheet.
● Middle ear. Answer: Eustachian tube Tensor tympani Stapedius Ossicles: Malleus
(hammer) Incus (anvil) Stapes (stirrup)
● Eustachian tube. Answer: Connects the middle ear with the pharynx. Equalizes air
pressure on either side of the eardrum
● Tensor tympani and Stapedius. Answer: Muscles attached to the malleus and stapes
● Incus (anvil). Answer: The middle bone which is connected to the malleus and hammer,
passes vibrations onto the stapes.
● Ossicles. Answer: 3 small bones in the middle ear that conduct sound mechanically, goal
is to amplify sounds
● Malleus (hammer). Answer: Affixed to the tympanic membrane and acts on the incus
● Stapes (stirrups). Answer: Vibrates against oval window creating pressure waves leading
to transduction by hair cells on basilar membrane in cochlea
● Inner ear. Answer: functions: transduce sound into a neural signal
● Cochlea. Answer: Snail-shaped structure of the inner ear that houses the hair cells that
transduce sound into a neural signal.
● Tympanic canal. Answer: One of three fluid-filled chambers in the cochlea. Vibrations
travel down it.
● Middle canal. Answer: One of three fluid-filled passages in the cochlea. In between the
tympanic and vestibular canals.
● Vestibular canal. Answer: One of the 3 fluid filled chambers of the Cochlea. Vibrations
travel down it, but not the tympanic canal.
● Reissner's membrane. Answer: A thin sheath of tissue separating the vestibular and
middle canals in the cochlea.
● Basilar membrane. Answer: Composed of fibers, like the base that contains the very
important cells involved in transduction. Contains the organ of corti.
● Tectorial membrane. Answer: a gelatinous flap, attached on one end, that extends into the
middle canal of the ear
CORRECT ANSWERS GRADED A+
● Sound stimulus. Answer: the periodic variations in air pressure traveling out from the
source
● Sound waves. Answer: the waves of pressure changes that occur in the air as a function of
the vibration of a source
● Medium of sound. Answer: A material (solid, liquid, or gas, or combination of these)
through which a wave travels. In water, sound travels 4x faster than it does through air.
● pure tones. Answer: A sound wave in which changes in air pressure follow a sine wave
pattern.
● amplitude. Answer: the difference between the peak and the baseline of a wave (height of
wave).
● loudness. Answer: Perceptual experience of amplitude
● Loud sounds can be dangerous. Answer: Prolonged contact to sounds over 85 dB can
eventually cause hearing loss. Sounds louder than 120 dB are painful. Sounds louder than
130 dB will generally result in immediate and permanent hearing loss.
● Frequency. Answer: The number of cycles in a sound stimulus that occur in 1 second
● Pitch. Answer: The subjective experience of frequency
● what unit is used to measure sound amplitude?. Answer: Hertz (Hz)
● What is the hearing range of humans and how does it change with age?. Answer:
20-20,000 Hz. As people age, hearing in the highest range dissipates. Lowest frequencies
tend to remain stable with age.
● Outer ear. Answer: Pinna, external auditory canal, tympanic membrane (eardrum)
● Pinna. Answer: Collects sound and funnels it into the auditory canal
● External auditory canal. Answer: conducts sound to the tympanic membrane, amplifies
specific sound frequencies.
, ● Tympanic membrane (eardrum). Answer: Thin elastic sheet.
● Middle ear. Answer: Eustachian tube Tensor tympani Stapedius Ossicles: Malleus
(hammer) Incus (anvil) Stapes (stirrup)
● Eustachian tube. Answer: Connects the middle ear with the pharynx. Equalizes air
pressure on either side of the eardrum
● Tensor tympani and Stapedius. Answer: Muscles attached to the malleus and stapes
● Incus (anvil). Answer: The middle bone which is connected to the malleus and hammer,
passes vibrations onto the stapes.
● Ossicles. Answer: 3 small bones in the middle ear that conduct sound mechanically, goal
is to amplify sounds
● Malleus (hammer). Answer: Affixed to the tympanic membrane and acts on the incus
● Stapes (stirrups). Answer: Vibrates against oval window creating pressure waves leading
to transduction by hair cells on basilar membrane in cochlea
● Inner ear. Answer: functions: transduce sound into a neural signal
● Cochlea. Answer: Snail-shaped structure of the inner ear that houses the hair cells that
transduce sound into a neural signal.
● Tympanic canal. Answer: One of three fluid-filled chambers in the cochlea. Vibrations
travel down it.
● Middle canal. Answer: One of three fluid-filled passages in the cochlea. In between the
tympanic and vestibular canals.
● Vestibular canal. Answer: One of the 3 fluid filled chambers of the Cochlea. Vibrations
travel down it, but not the tympanic canal.
● Reissner's membrane. Answer: A thin sheath of tissue separating the vestibular and
middle canals in the cochlea.
● Basilar membrane. Answer: Composed of fibers, like the base that contains the very
important cells involved in transduction. Contains the organ of corti.
● Tectorial membrane. Answer: a gelatinous flap, attached on one end, that extends into the
middle canal of the ear
