Deck 4: The Physics and Biology of Audition

Question 1

Which term describes the characteristic of musical notes that allows us to hear a melody?

A) frequency
B) amplitude
C) phase
D) decibel
E) pressure

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Inter-aural level differences (ILDs) are only available for

A) Sound frequencies below 2kHz
B) Sound frequencies above 20kHz
C) Sound frequencies above 2kHz
D) Sound frequencies below 1kHz

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which statement is not true of auditory association cortex?

A) The distinction between 'what' and 'where' pathways is preserved
B) It is densely interconnected to primary auditory cortex
C) Cells respond better to pure tones than to narrowband noise
D) It forms a belt surrounding primary auditory cortex

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The descending auditory pathway reaches as far as

A) Medial geniculate nuclei
B) Superior olives
C) Cochlear nuclei
D) Cochleas

Question 5

Which one of the following statements about Fourier analysis is correct

A) Fourier analysis can only be applied to periodic sensory stimuli
B) Fourier components sum together to recreate the original signal
C) Fourier components must be combined nonlinearly
D) Fourier analysis adds distortions to signals

Question 6

Which one of the following statements is not correct?

A) Sound pressure waves travel through the air at a constant speed of about 33 metres per second
B) Sound consists of pressure waves carried by vibrating air molecules
C) Parts of the sound wave where air pressure is increased are called compressions
D) Parts of the sound wave where air pressure is decreased are called rarefactions

Question 7

Which sound pressure level in decibels (dB) is likely to cause pain and hearing loss

A) 6 dB
B) 14 dB
C) 60 dB
D) 140 dB

Question 8

Sound frequency relates to our perception of its

A) Onset
B) Pitch
C) Loudness
D) Direction

Question 9

What procedure reveals the sine wave components in a complex sound

A) Fourier synthesis
B) Filtering
C) Fourier analysis
D) Sound pressure level analysis

Question 10

How long does it take for sounds originating directly opposite one ear to arrive at the other ear?

A) 70 microseconds
B) 70 milliseconds
C) 100 microseconds
D) 700 microseconds

Question 11

Which one of the following does not provide a cue for the localization of sound sources?

A) Two-tone suppression
B) The filtering effect of the pinna
C) Inter-aural time differences
D) Inter-aural level differences

Question 12

What information about a sound is displayed in a spectrogram?

A) Fourier synthesis
B) Magnitude and phase spectra
C) Time-varying magnitude spectrum
D) Time-varying phase spectrum

Question 13

In humans, what effects do the shape and size of the pinna, concha and ear canal have on hearing?

A) Amplify frequencies above 7kHz
B) Amplify frequencies below 1.5kHz
C) Amplify frequencies between 1.5 and 7kHz
D) Attenuate frequencies between 1.5 and 7 kHz

Question 14

Impedance matching mediates between

A) The oval window and cochlear receptors
B) The pinna and the tympanic membrane
C) The tympanic membrane and the oval window
D) The cochea and the vestibular apparatus

Question 15

Where is the place of maximum displacement on the basilar membrane?

A) Near the base for low frequencies
B) Near the apex for low frequencies
C) Near the middle for low frequencies
D) Near the middle for high frequencies

Question 16

The firing of hair cells in synchrony with the variation of the pressure of the input sound is known as

A) Phase locking
B) Frequency coding
C) Place coding
D) Filtering

Question 17

Transduction by cochlear hair cells can occur within a period as short as:

A) 10 nanoseconds
B) 10 microseconds
C) 10 milliseconds
D) 1/10 of a second

Question 18

The structure through which all ascending projections in the auditory system pass immediately before they reach primary auditory cortex is the

A) Medial geniculate nucleus
B) Lateral geniculate nucleus
C) Superior olive
D) Cochlear nucleus

Question 19

Which statement is not true of linear acoustic filters

A) A pure tone input produces a pure tone output
B) If the input sound amplitude doubles, the output amplitude doubles
C) Different input signals combine additively
D) The output can contain more frequency components than the input