Question 1

Zach cut his finger and immediately felt a small but sharp pain. Carla's broken arm is healing but even after the cast has been removed, it still aches. What is the difference between the fast and slow neural pathways of pain messages represented here?

Accepted Answer

The fast pathway transmits sharp, immediate pain signals to the thalamus, while the slow pathway, associated with dull, aching pain, involves the limbic system, which processes emotional aspects of pain.

Question 2

The ________ sense gives you information about balance and movement.

Accepted Answer

The vestibular sense is responsible for providing information about balance and movement, as it involves structures in the inner ear that respond to changes in head position and movement. Kinesthetic sense, on the other hand, provides information about the position and movement of body parts, while visual and olfactory senses pertain to sight and smell respectively, and not directly related to balance and movement.

Question 3

Abel knows that his legs are crossed and that his hands are on top of his head. This is a demonstration of

Accepted Answer

This scenario involves awareness of one's body position, which is proprioceptive feedback. The other options do not fit the scenario as well. Central feedback refers to the body's response to the nervous system, perceptual constancy refers to the brain's ability to perceive objects as unchanging even as they change in terms of sensory input, and vestibular sense refers to the perception of balance and spatial orientation.

Question 4

Which of the following is involved in smell?

Accepted Answer

Olfactory epithelium is the part of the nose responsible for detecting odor molecules. Papillae are found on the tongue and involved in taste. The thalamus is a part of the brain involved in processing sensory information, but not specifically related to smell. Pinnae are the outer part of the ear, used for capturing sound waves.

Question 5

The bones of the middle ear are set into motion by vibrations of the

Accepted Answer

The eardrum, or tympanic membrane, vibrates in response to sound waves that enter the ear. These vibrations are then transmitted to the small bones of the middle ear, called the ossicles, which include the malleus, incus, and stapes. The movement of these bones amplifies the sound and transmits it to the inner ear.

Question 6

When sound waves enter the ear canal, they first

Accepted Answer

Sound waves entering the ear canal cause the eardrum to vibrate, which in turn vibrates the three small bones in the middle ear (hammer, anvil, and stirrup). These bones amplify the sound and transmit it to the oval window, which moves in response to the vibrations. The movement of the oval window creates waves in the fluid-filled cochlea, stimulating tiny hair cells to send signals to the brain which interpret the sound.

Question 7

Taste buds are bunched together in

Accepted Answer

Taste buds are located on the papillae, which are small bumps on the tongue, roof of the mouth, and back of the throat. They are not located in the tonsils or salivary glands, and the organ of Corti is responsible for hearing, not taste.

Question 8

The pinna is the

Accepted Answer

The pinna is the external part of the ear, visible outside the head. It serves to collect and funnel sound waves into the ear canal.

Question 9

Little Bonnie fell off her bike and scraped her knee. Which of the following would you predict?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Little Bonnie fell off her bike and...

Question 10

When something warm touches your skin, you feel warmth. When something cold touches your skin, you feel coldness. If things both warm and cold touch your skin, stimulating adjacent thermoreceptors for warmth and cold, you will feel

Accepted Answer

The answer of When something warm touches your skin, you...

Question 11

What is the major function of the hammer, anvil, and stirrup?

Accepted Answer

The hammer, anvil, and stirrup are collectively known as the ossicles, and their main function is to transmit sound waves from the eardrum to the fluid-filled inner ear, specifically the cochlea. The vibrations created by the ossicles amplify the sound waves and help to convert them into electrical signals that can be processed by the brain. Therefore, choice C is the correct answer.

Question 12

According to research, a typical person can safely listen to an IPod at 90 percent volume for no more than ________ minutes.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to research, a typical person can...

Question 13

We are able to taste due to approximately ________ taste buds on our tongue.

Accepted Answer

While some sources may give slightly different estimates, most scientific studies suggest that the average human tongue has between 2,000 and 10,000 taste buds. Therefore, choice A) 10,000 is the closest estimate and the best answer.

Question 14

The ________ senses provide information about movement, posture, and orientation,

Accepted Answer

The kinesthetic senses provide information about movement and body position, while the vestibular senses provide information about balance and spatial orientation. The olfactory senses relate to smell, and the limbic system is a complex brain region involved in emotions and memory processing, but not directly related to these types of sensory information.

Question 15

Place theory states that

Accepted Answer

Place theory in hearing states that each different frequency of sound waves activates different parts of the basilar membrane in the cochlea, which sends information to the brain about the pitch or tone of the sound. Therefore, Choice D is the correct option. Choices A and B are incorrect because they relate to aspects of vision, not hearing. Choice C refers to temporal theory, another theory of pitch perception in hearing, but not directly related to the concept of place theory.

Question 16

What part of the body is most responsible for kinesthetic senses?

Accepted Answer

Muscle fibers and joints are responsible for providing the kinesthetic sense, also known as proprioception, which is the sense of body position and movement. The spinal cord and thalamus play a role in processing this information, but the actual sensors for kinesthetic senses are located in the muscle fibers and joints. The small bones in the inner ear are responsible for balance and spatial orientation, which are related but distinct senses from kinesthetic senses.

Question 17

Smell can elicit more vivid memories than the other senses. What is the reason for this?

Accepted Answer

The olfactory system, responsible for the sense of smell, has a direct connection to the limbic system, which is associated with memories and emotions. This direct neural pathway may explain why smells can elicit more vivid memories than other senses.

Question 18

One critique of place theory is that it does not explain

Accepted Answer

Place theory explains how high-frequency sounds are processed by the ear, but it does not account for the processing of low-frequency sounds.

Question 19

The purpose of semicircular canals in the inner ear is to

Accepted Answer

The semicircular canals are responsible for detecting head motion and rotational movements. They are filled with fluid and contain sensory cells that respond to the movement of the fluid as the head moves. This information is then sent to the brain to help us maintain our balance and spatial orientation.

Question 20

According to your text, the main criticism voiced by the deaf community in regards to cochlear implantation is that it

Accepted Answer

The main criticism voiced by the deaf community in regards to cochlear implantation is that it suggests that being deaf is a problem, and implies that the deaf community needs to be fixed or cured. Cochlear implants are often seen as a threat to the deaf community's culture and identity.

Quiz 4: Sensation and Perception