Form Two Science, Chapter One: The World Through Our Senses

Concept: 1. Sense organs - skin (touch), nose (smell), tongue (taste), - ear (hearing), eyes (sight) 2. Stimuli and responses in humans 3. Stimuli and responses in plants - phototropism, geotropism, hydrotropism, - thigmotropism, nastic movement 4. Light and sight a. Reflection b. Refraction c. Astigmatism d. Short-sightedness e. Long-sightedness f. Correction defects g. Optical illusion h. Blind spot i. Monocular and stereoscopic vision 5. Sound and hearing a. Production of sound b. Sound and medium c. Reflection of sound d. Absorption of sound e. Stereophonic hearing f. Defects of hearing g. Correcting defects

Information in the form of signals, called nerve impulses travel along these nerves. 7. These signals enable the brain to sense what is happening inside and outside the body and to control the actions of muscles and organs. 8. Nerves send signals from sense organs to the brain. The messages that have been interpreted and then send to the muscles or organs. The muscles or organs will produce suitable responses. 9. The pathway from stimuli to responses. a. A mosquito on the arm is detected by the eyes when light is reflected into the eyes. b. This stimulate the receptors in the retina. Signals are sent along the nerves to the brain through the spinal cord. c. The brain receives the impulses and interprets them. The mosquito is seen. d. The brain then produces new impulses. These travel along the spinal cord to the nerves. e. The nerves send the impulses to the muscles on the other arm. The persons hand then swats the mosquito. Science file:
a. b. c. d. e. Different animals have different sense organs. Bees are able to detect ultraviolet rays with their sense organs. The brain contains about 100 billion nerve cells. The total length of the nerves in our body is about 75km. Nerve impulses travel from the eyes to the brain at a speed of 400km/h.

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1.1 Sense organs and their functions

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Living organisms have sense organs. These sense organs enable an organism to detect changes that occur in the environment. Each particular sense organ is sensitive to only certain type of stimuli. Therefore each sense organ acts independently of the other. The five sense organs found in human beings are skin, nose, tongue, ear and eye. Stimuli are changes that occur in the environment. Organisms have the ability to respond to stimuli. Examples of stimuli are chemical substances, changes in temperature and light intensity. The ability of the sense organs to detect stimuli is referred as response. Human beings have five different type of sense, touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight.
Sense organ Sense Type of stimuli

1.2 The Sense of Touch

1. The skin is the organ that detect touch. It respond to

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. pain, heat, cold and pressure. Our skin is 2 mm thick. IT covers our entire body. It consists of 2 layer, epidermis and dermis. The outer layer or epidermis is made up of dead cells. It is water proof. It is also a preventive layer by preventing bacteria from entering our bodies. The inner layer or dermis consists of living cells, blood vessels, nerves and sweat glands. There are nerve endings in the dermis which enable the skin to detect stimuli. The skin has 5 different type of receptors: a. pain receptors b. touch receptors c. heat receptors d. cold receptors e. pressure receptors.
The human skin

6. 7.

8.

Skin Touch Pressure, pain, heat Nose Smell Chemicals Tongue Taste Chemicals Ears Hearing Sound Eyes Sight Light The sense organs receive stimuli. The stimuli are interpreted by brain and spinal cord.

Response to stimuli
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Human beings detect stimuli through their sense organs. When a stimuli is detected by a sense organ, information is sent to the brain. A suitable response will then be produced. How a person reacts to a stimulus is known as the response. The brain the centre that controls all the actions and all the responses of the body. The brain is divided into different parts. Each part is responsible for different activities. The brain is linked to all parts of the body by nerves. 7. 8. 9. The pain receptors are in the epidermis. The touch, heat and cold receptors are in the dermis layer while the pressure receptors are in the fat layer. The touch and pressure receptors enable a person to feel, know and identify the texture, size and shape of an object.

Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

10. Pain receptors are sensitive to pain. 11. Heat and cold receptors enable a person to know how hot or how cold an object is. 12. The skin in different parts of the body has different degree of sensitivity. 13. When a stimulus is detected, a receptor will be excited and generate a impulse. The impulse is carried along nerves to the spinal cord. From the spinal cord the impulse will be sent to the brain for interpretation which will result in another impulse being generated and sent to the muscles for a reaction to be carried out. 14. The sensitivity of the skin depends on a. the thickness of the epidermis; b. the number of sensory receptors present. 15. The skin on the neck is more sensitive than the one on the knee because the epidermis layer on the neck is thinner. 16. The receptors on our skin are not evenly distributed. Locations which have higher number of receptors will have higher sensitivity towards stimuli. 17. For blind people, the sense of tough is very important. It helps them to feel their way around and identify objects in their environment. 18. A doctor normally inject their patients in their arms and buttocks. Science file:
a. b. c. Louis Braille, who was blind, invented the Braille writing system. The skin is the biggest organ in our body. Skin cells can normally live for 3 weeks.

2. The surface of the tongue is rough. It is covered with

3. little bumps, called taste buds. A taste bud contains taste receptors. These are sensitive to different taste. Each taste bud contains about 50 taste receptors. Each type of taste receptor is sensitive to only one type of taste. The tongue has 4 types of taste receptors, sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Detection of taste by taste buds: a. Food or drink in our mouth dissolves in saliva. b. Chemicals from the food stimulate taste receptors. c. The taste receptors generate impulses, which is sent to the brain through the nerves. d. The brain interprets the impulse and the taste is detected. Food that cannot dissolve in saliva cannot be detected by the taste receptors. Both the taste and smell are needed to detect the flavours of food accurately. The nasal cavity and the mouth are connected. This allows the taste and smell of food in the mouth to be detected at the same time. This explains why we cannot determine the taste of food accurately when using only one of the two senses, taste and smell.

4. 5.

6. 7.

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The human tongue

1.3 The Sense of Smell

1. 2. 3. 4. The nose is the sense organ that is sensitive to smell. Sensory cells or smell receptors are sensitive to chemicals in the air. These cells are located in the epithelium in the upper nasal cavity. Glands in the nasal cavity secrete mucus. The mucus keeps the smell receptors moist. Detection of smell: a. Tiny chemical particles in the air dissolve in the mucus that coats the smell receptors. b. The dissolved chemical then stimulate the smell receptors. Impulse is produced and sent to the brain along the olfactory nerve. The smell is identified. Structural adaptation of the nose to detect smell: a. Smell receptors are located at the top of the nasal cavity to enable maximum exposure to the air. b. The smell receptors are always covered in mucus. When a person has a cold, he cannot detect smell very well. This is because too much mucus is produced thus prevents the chemicals from stimulating the smell receptors.

Science file:
a. b. c. The human tongue has 10 000 taste buds. The part of the tongue that detects bitterness is 8000 times more sensitive than the part of the tongue that detect sweetness. Butterflies taste food with their mouth and legs

1.5 The Sense of Hearing

1. 2. 3. 4. The ear is the sense organ that is sensitive to the sound stimuli. The human ear is a complex organ which help us to hear a range of sound. The human ear is divided into 3 parts, namely outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. The mechanism of hearing: a. The pinna gathers sound waves and directs them to the auditory canal. b. The sound waves reach the eardrum and make it vibrate. The eardrum vibrates at the same frequency as the sound waves. c. The vibrations are transmitted to the ossicles. This in turn makes the ossicles vibrate. d. The ossicles magnify the vibrations. The vibrations are passed on to the oval window. e. The vibrations of the oval window cause the fluid in the cochlea to vibrate. f. The movement of the fluid stimulates the sensory cells in the cochlea. Nerve impulses are generated. g. The impulses are then sent to the brain through the auditory nerves.

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Science file:
a. b. c. d. e. Our nose has about 2 million smell receptors. The sense of smell is 20 000 times more sensitive than sense of taste. Our nose can detect 10 000 types of smell. Some male butterflies (antennae) can detect the smell of female butterflies from as far as 2 km away. A dogs sense of smell is 100 times more sensitive than human beings. This is because the dogs olfactory organ is 4 times bigger than ours.

1.4 The Sense of Taste

1. The tongue is the taste organ. It is sensitive to sweet, salty, sour and bitter tastes.

Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

5.

Below are parts of the ear and their functions.

Part Struct ure Function

are sent to the brain.

Yellow spot (fovea) The part of the retina that is the most
sensitive to light. Blind spot the part of retina which is not sensitive to light. Cornea a) allows light to enter the eye; b) helps to focus on to the retina. Iris Controls the size of the pupils & hence the amount of light entering the eyes Pupil a) allows the light to go into the eyes; b) control the amount of light entering the eyes Eye lens a) bends and focuses the light to form images on retina; b) the thickness can be alter to focus objects of various distances from the lens Suspensory ligaments holds the lens in place and connect it to the ciliary muscles. Ciliary muscles changes the thickness of the eyes lens by means of contraction and relaxation. Aqueous humour helps keep the shape of the eyes; b) bends the light Vitreous humour helps keep the shape of the eyes; b) bends the light Optic nerve sends nerve impulses from retina to the brain 6. The pupil is adapted to the light intensity. When the light intensity is high, it becomes smaller (and the iris becomes bigger). When the light is dim the pupils size is bigger (and ....).

Outer ear Pinna auditory canal Inner ear eardrum ossicles oval window Eustachian tube Inner ear Cochlea Auditory nerve Semicircula r canals
The human ear

Collect sound waves & direct them into the auditory canal Send sound wave to the eardrum - Separates ME from OE. - vibrates when hit by sound waves Magnify the vibrations & transfer them from eardrum to oval window. Transfers the vibrations from the ossicles to the IE Helps to balance the pressure on both sides of the eardrum Detects the vibration & convert them to impulses Sends the impulses to the brain Helps the body maintain its balance

Science file:
c. When we climb up a hill, our ears feel some pain. The air pressure decreases as we go higher up the hill. Gradually the air pressure inside the middle ear becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure outside. The unequal pressure on both sides of the eardrum causes the pain in the ear. A person who is born deaf is usually also dumb. The vibrations of the eardrum are magnified 30 times by the ossicles.

d. e.

a human eye The formation of images

1. 2. 3. Light rays from an object travel through the cornea, aqueous humour, eye lens and vitreous humour. They are refracted on the retina to form an inverted image. The light stimulates the retina and impulses are generated. The impulses are then sent to the brain through the optic nerve. In the brain the signals are interpreted to put together a picture of the object, including its colour, shape, distance and size. How the human eye works: a. Light from the object enters the eye through the pupil. The pupil adjusts its size according to the light intensity.

1.6 The Sense of Sight

The sense of sight is the ability of the sense organ to detect light stimuli. 2. The eyes are the sense organ for sight. 3. Human eyes are spherical. They are protected in the bony sockets in the skull. 4. There are three pairs of muscles help to control the movement of the eye balls. 5. The tear glands produce tears to clean eyes and kill bacteria or microorganisms. Sclera forms a protective layer round the eyeball Choroid a. black pigment absorp light and prevent it from reflecting; b) capillaries supply nutrients and oxygen to the eye. Retina receives light stimuli and generates impulses which
Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

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4.
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b. Light ray then refracted by the eye lens. The lens changes its thickness to focus the image onto the retina. c. The thickness of the eye lens is controlled by the ciliary muscles. When the ciliary muscles contract, the eye lens becomes thick and the near objects are focused onto the retina. d. When the ciliary muscles relax, the eye lens becomes thin, and far objects are focused onto the retina.
Thick lens

b. The dentist uses mirrors when examining teeth. c. A convex mirror is placed at a bend on the road so that the drivers can see on coming cars on the other side of the bend. d. Periscope a device used by a submarine to enable a sailor to examine outside without surfacing. e. A mirror which enable us to see the reflection of ourselves as well as others. It also helps a vehicle driver to see the rear without turning his head. f. A special mirror/well polished plastic is used to reflect light in a torch light so that the light is directed at one position. g.

Thin lens

Refraction of light
1. 2. A light beam will not be affected if it travels through a single medium, for example air. When light travels from one transparent medium to another which is of a different density, refraction occurs.

1.7 Light and sight

1. Light is a form of energy which travels at a speed of 300 000 000 m/s. A ray diagram is used to show which way the light is traveling.

2.

Reflection of light
1. 2. 3. 4. When a ray of light is shown on an even surface, reflection occurs. The reflection is better if the even surface is polished. Regular reflection occur when a parallel light is shown on even surface and if it is shown on uneven surface, irregular reflection occurs. When a reflection occurs, an image is formed. The image formed on a plane mirror is: a. virtual (cannot be formed on a screen) b. upright c. laterally inverted d. the same size as the object e. the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front

(No. 3 to 10, please refer to the figure above.)

3. At the point O, the line MN is known as normal for the

point O. The line SO is the incident ray, light before refraction. 5. The line OT is the emergent ray, light after refraction. 6. The angle SOM is larger than the angle TON. 7. At the point R, the line PQ is another normal for the point R. 8. The line TR is the incident ray, light before the refraction. (compare to SO) 9. The line RU is the emergent ray, light after the refraction. 10. The angle TRP is smaller than the angle QRU. 11. Therefore: a. The light ray bends towards the normal when it travels from a medium of lower density to a medium of higher density. b. Examples: 4.
1. 2. Light ray travels from air into water Light ray travels from water into glass

Reflection

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Application of reflection a. Kaleidoscope made of three pieces of mirror arranged in a triangular pattern. The shape allows light to be reflected from the mirrors in the inner walls which forms multiple images.

c.

d.

The light ray bends away from the normal when it travels from a medium of higher density to a medium of a lower density. Examples: The reverse of 01 and 02 above.

Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

12. Refraction of light occurs because the speed of light changes when it moves from one medium into another medium of a different density. This causes the direction of the light to change. 13. The speed of light decreases when it enters a denser medium. It increases when it enters a less dense medium. 14. If a light ray travels vertically (90o) into a medium of different density, its path will never be altered. Science file:
The speed of light is about a. 300 000 km per second in the air b. 225 000 km per second in water c. 200 000 km per second in glass

3.

Light from a near object focuses exactly on the retina. will be focus nearer to the lens rather than on the retina. To correct this defect, a concave lens, which is of opposite property compared to the convex (our eye lens) lens is used. The light is diverted so the image will be focused further back, that is on the retina.

4. When a distant object is focuses by this eye, the image

5.

Short-sightedness (myopia)

Phenomena of the refraction of light

A pond or pool looks shallower than its real depth 1. 2. The light from the bottom of the pond is refracted away from the normal because the light emerges from a denser medium to a less dense medium. The viewer sees the bottom of the pond at a higher position, makes it looks shallower.

correction

Long-sightedness (hypermetropia)

1. The person can see distant objects clearly but not near
2. 3. objects. The cause of this defect is: a. The eye lens is too thin b. The eyeball is too short. Light from a distant object focuses exactly on the retina. When a near object is focuses by this eye, the image will be focus further from the lens rather than on the retina. To correct this defect, a convex lens, which is of opposite property compared to a concave (our eye lens) is used. The light is converges so the image will be focused closer to te lens, that is, on the retina.

A bent straw in a half-filled glass. 1. 2. When the light emerges from the water, it bends sway from normal. The observer sees the straw at a position above the bottom of the glass.

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Long-sightedness (hypermyopia)

A fish looks nearer in the water. 1. 2. The light emerges from the water, bends away from the normal. The viewer sees the fish slightly above its original position.

Correction

Vision defects and ways to correct them.

1. Basically a thick lens will have a shorter focal length and a

thin lens will have a longer focal length.

2. A normal person sees distant and close objects clearly. The

3. 4. 5. thickness of the eye lens is changed when looking at nearer distant objects. This process is known as accommodation. A common vision defect is long-sightedness or shortsightedness. These eyes defects can be corrected by wearing spectacles.

Astigmatism

1. It is cause by the cornea and the eye lens that cannot be

2. 3. 4. evenly curved. As a result the image formed on the retina is distorted and not very clear. This defect can be overcome by wearing glasses with cylindrical lenses. It can also be corrected by wearing contact lenses or by surgery.

Short-sightedness (myopia)

1. The person can see near objects clearly but distant objects
2. are blurred. The cause to this defect is: a. the eye lens is too thick. b. The eyeball is too long. 1. 2.

Scratched cornea Scratched cornea causes vision to be blurred. It can be corrected by cornea transplant.

Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

3. Presbyopia 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A condition of long-sightedness in old people. As we get older, the ciliary muscles lose their ability to contract and relax. The eye lens also gets harder and cannot be stretched easily. This makes it difficult to focus on near objects. The correction method is by wearing bifocal lenses so as to see near and distant objects.

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Optical illusion 1. 2. Sometimes what we see is not exactly what the real situations are. This happens because the brain cannot interpret accurately the information sent by the receptors in the eyes. This phenomena are called optical illusions. Optical illusions are cause by disturbances to the impulses going to the brain. These disturbances may be caused by other objects or conditions around the object. Examples:

When we look at an object with both eyes, we are looking at the object from two angles and hence: a. we can estimate or determine the distance and position of the object accurately b. we can see the object in 3-dimentional shape. There is one notable setback of this type of vision, that is its field of vision is smaller than that of monocular vision. Predators such as owls, eagles, tigers, bears and wolves can determine their prey accurately and catch can be done effectively.

Monocular vision 1. 2. 3. 4. When we see with one eye is said to be having monocular vision. These animals have one eye on each side of their heads. Each eye can see different objects at the same time. The field of vision seldom overlap. This makes these animals have a wider range of vision hence be able to detect their predators easily. The two drawbacks of this vision are it cannot see objects in 3 dimension and cannot estimate distant as well as position of objects accurately.

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Limitations of sight 1. 2. 3. Our eyes have limitations, such as we cannot see too small a thing like bacteria. Things that are very far cannot be seen by our eyes. We need aiding apparatus to help us to overcome these limitation. Devices to overcome limitations of sight Microscope The blind spot 1. 2. The blind spot is part of the retina that is connected to the brain by the optic nerve. This spot dose not contain any receptors sensitive to light. Hence the eyes cannot detect the images that fall on this spot. With your left eye close and your right eye focuses on the letter X, try to vary the distance between the paper and your eye. Notice a time will come when the turtle disappears from your vision. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A microscope is used to help us see very tiny objects such as bacteria and cells. A microscope uses two convex lenses to produce a large magnification. The objective lens produce a real, inverted and magnified image. This image acts as the object for the eye piece. The eye piece lens acts as a magnifying glass. It produces a magnified, virtual image in the microscope.

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Magnifying glass 1. 2. 3. A magnifying helps us to see tiny objects. The magnifying glass is a convex lens that can magnify an object by 10 to 15 times. It has a short focal length. The magnifying glass produces a magnified, virtual image of the object. The shorter the focal length, the higher the magnifying power.

X
Stereoscopic vision 1. 2.

4.

What we see with both eyes are called stereoscopic vision. All animals with eyes at the front have stereoscopic vision.

Telescope

Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

1.

The telescope helps us see distant objects. 2. The telescope consists of two convex lenses. 3. The objective lens produces a real, inverted and smaller image. 4. The eyepiece then magnify the image. Binoculars 1.

1. 2.

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Basically function as two telescopes fused together. Since we are looking at the object through the binoculars with both eyes, the our vision is stereoscopic.

Ultrasound scanning device 1. 2. Ultrasound is a device which enables us to `see internal organs like liver, kidneys, etc. A device is press against the patient and sends out high frequency waves. The waves hit the organ and bounce back, hence produce an image of the organ.

X-ray 1. 2. 3. A film is placed behind the patient whom organs need to be examine. A machine sends out a ray which can penetrate the tissues of the patient and falls on the film. When the film is developed, the designated organ can be seen or examined.

Sound can travel from one place to another. Sound needs a material for it to travel through, known as medium. 3. When theres no medium the sound wont travel, as what happens in vacuum. 4. Sound can travel through all the three states of matter, solid, liquid and gas. 5. The sound energy is received by the air particles, the vibrate, hence converting sound energy to kinetic energy. 6. The air molecules will then become in a state of compression and relaxation. This create a wave form which travels along through the air. 7. When the sound waves reach a person, the vibrating kinetic energy is converted to electrical impulses which can be read by our brains. 8. The same theory is applied to the cases when sound travels through liquid and solid. 9. The sound waves make the liquid or solid vibrate and the vibrations are pass on from one molecule to the next molecule and the vibration continue. 10. Since the liquid is denser than the gas, the vibration travels faster. 11. The solid is the most dense of all, so the vibration travels the fastest.
Science file:
Explosions that occur on the surface sun cannot be heard on the earth because there is a vacuum between the sun and the earth.

Periscope

The reflection and absorption of sound.

1. A periscope is a device made

of a long tube, inside which is placed two pieces of mirror at 45o to each other. 2. The light ray from an object enters the periscope and got reflected by the top mirror and travels to the bottom mirror. There it is reflected into the viewers eyes. (please draw the light rays)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

1.8 Sound and Hearing

1. 2. 3. 4. Sound is a form of energy. When things vibrate, they produce sound. A vibrating object convert kinetic energy to sound energy. Examples of vibrating objects that produce sound: a. Musical instruments with vibrating strings such as guitar, violin and piano. b. Musical instruments with vibrating air column such as trumpet, saxophone, etc. c. Vibrating surfaces like a drum, gong, etc. d. Motor vehicles, etc. Human beings and animals produce sounds by: a. Human vibration of vocal cords. b. Bee vibration of wings c. Grasshopper vibration of wings when rubbed by its hind legs. d. Crickets vibration of wings. e. Frog vibration of throat pouches.

When sound hits an obstacle, the sound wave will be absorbed or reflected. The absorption or reflection of sound waves depends on the nature of the obstacle. A hard, smooth surface will reflect sound waves easily. For example wall of buildings, tunnels, mountain slopes, glass and metal. A soft and rough surface will absorb sound more than reflecting them. For example carpets, curtain, cotton, sponge, rubber and soft boards. A surface which is a good sound reflector is also a bad sound absorber. Sound reflection:

Sound wave entering

soft board

reflected sound wave

Echoes 1. 2. 3. 4. Echoes are sounds that are reflected off certain surfaces. Hard and smooth surfaces reflect sound well and produce loud echoes. Places which are wide but close cause echoes such as tunnels, caves, closed halls and valleys. Places that we do not encourage echoes can keep away the echoes by: a. covering the floor with carpets b. hanging thick curtains c. lining the wall with sponge or soft board with holes d. using chairs with soft cushions.

5.

The need for a medium for sound to travel

Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

5.

In concert hall and theatres, echoes need to be reduced. This enables the audience hear the original sound clearly.

Bats Dolphins

2 000 120 000 1 000 120 000

Properties of sound 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Sound travels in straight path. Sound can travel through gas, liquid and solid. Sound cannot travel through vacuum. Hard and smooth surfaces are sound reflectors. Soft and rough surfaces are sound absorbers.

Stereophonic hearing 1. 2. We hear with both ears. This produce stereophonic hearing. Stereophonic hearing enables us to determine the direction of sound accurately by: a. The ear nearer to the source of sound receives the sound first and the stimuli is also stronger. b. The two different impulses are sent to the brain. c. The brain interprets the impulses and determine the directions of the sound. The advantages of stereophonic hearing is that it can tell the preys to be aware of its predators hence avoid them from dangers. The hearing also enable us to know the sound directions accurately so that we can act accordingly.

Hearing defects 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Deafness may be caused by defects in the hearing mechanism. This may be in one or all three parts of the ear. The auditory canal sometimes filled with too much earwax which blocks the sound waves and causes temporary deafness. The ossicles fused together because of an infection and growth of connective tissues. This makes the bones difficult to move freely and transfer of sound waves blocked. Cochlea infection, high fever can produce toxin which damage the cochlea. The sensory cell in the cochlea may be damaged to exposure to loud sounds. Overcoming the hearing defects: a. Removal of earwax b. Surgery to replace the damage ossicles. c. Surgery to repair the damage eardrum. d. Implantation of electronic gadgets to help deaf people hear. How a hearing aid work: a. A small microphone picks up the sound waves and changes it into electrical signals. b. Amplifier strengthens the electrical signals. c. The signals are then sent to the earphone to be converted back to sound waves which is much louder.

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Devices to overcome hearing limitation. 1. Due to the nature of our ears structure, we are unable to hear all the sounds around us. Some sounds are too soft because of small vibration or due to too big a distance. Doctors use stethoscope to hear heartbeats. The stethoscope makes the heartbeats louder so that a person can hear. A loud speaker is used to address a large crowd or during a assembly. a. The microphone on the loudspeaker picks up the voice of the speaker. b. The sound waves are changed into electrical signals and sent to amplifier. c. The amplifier then amplifies the signal and a louder sound is produced. Earphones are used by us to listen to music from a player without disturbing others.

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Limitation of hearing 1. Our ear has the ability to hear sound within the frequency range of 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz. Beyond this range the sound is not audible. The children have more elastic eardrum and so can hear better. As the age gets higher, the eardrum gets less elastic and sensitivity of hearing gets lower. A person exposed to constant loud noises experiences lose of hearing. His range of hearing is less than that of a normal person. Frequencies higher than 20 000 Hz are called ultrasonic frequencies. Some animals uses sound to communicate or for guidance in their movements. a. Dolphins and whales use sound to communicate between members of its clans. b. Bats use high frequency sound to detect obstacles in their path to avoid collision. Organism Range of frequencies (Hz)

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Further notes on frequency and loudness. 1. Frequency is the number of cycles of sound waves per second, unit hertz or Hz. When a string vibrates slowly, the sound frequency produced is low. The sound we hear will be low ( ) or low pitch. When a string vibrates quickly, the sound frequency produced is high. The sound we hear is sharp ( ) or high pitch. To produce higher frequency, we need to a. shorten the string b. tighten the string c. use a thinner string The loudness of a sound is how loud a sound is produced. A sounds loudness is high when a loud sound is produced and a sounds loudness is low when a soft sound is produced. The loudness of a sound is determine by the magnitude of vibration, known as amplitude. If an amplitude is high, the loudness is high and if the amplitude is low the sound is soft.

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Human beings 20 20 000 Whales 10 -20 Dogs 67 45 000 Frogs 50 10 000 Cats 45 65 000 Snakes 100 800 Grasshoppers 100 15 000 Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

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To get a higher loudness from a string, we just have to pluck the string stronger.

Thigmotropism
1. 2. 3. A plants response towards touch is thigmotropism. When parts of the plant, for example the shoot has touched an object, that particular part will bend towards the object. After a while, the plants part will grip firmly on the object. This enables the plants to hold on to an object, possibly due to its stems are too soft and need supports. Examples: a. Plants with tendrils: Passion flower, cucumber, bitter gourd b. Climbing with stems: Long beams,

1.9 Response in plants. 1. 2. 3. Plants response to stimuli to accommodate the necessary changes in the environment. A plant does not move its whole body when it respond, rather parts of its body. The parts of the plants which respond to stimuli are shoots, roots and leaves. A plants parts response towards stimuli by moving closer of moving away from it is called tropism. In tropism, we can classify plants response into four types according to the stimuli: a. phototropism response of plants parts towards light. When moving closer to light, it is positive phototropism and negative phototropism when moving away from the light source. b. Geotropism The response of plants parts towards gravity. It is positive geotropism when moving towards gravity and negative geotropism when moving away from gravity. c. Hydrotropism The movement of plants parts towards water d. Thimotropism The movement of plantss parts towards touches.

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Nastic movements

1. Nastic movement is the response of a part of a plant

2. 3. 4. 5. towards stimuli like touch, light and heat. This response is not going according to the directions of the stimuli. The mimosa plant will close its leaves when touched. The direction of the closing of the leaves is not determined by the direction of the touch. A insect trap plant will close its leaves when an insect stops on it. A pitcher plant will close its lit when insect enters it pouch.

Phototropism
1. 2. 3. Phototropism is the growth response of plants towards light. Most of the leaves and shoots show this by bending and growing towards the light. They show positive phototropism . However, the roots grow away from light, hence negative phototropism.

The importance of response to plants 1. 2. 3. The tropism responses of plants ensure that plants always get their basic needs, water, nutrients, sun light and space. Phototropism makes the plants grow towards the sun light. That ensure photosynthesis process is carried out sufficiently for survival. To grow upwards, the non-woody plants depends on thigmotropism for climbing upwards and get sufficient sun light. Geotropism ensures the plants get the water needed for survival. It also helps the roots to grow deep into the soil for support. Internet corridor http://faculty.washingtonedn/chudler/bigear.html
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Geotropism
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A plants growth response towards gravity is geotropism. Roots grow towards gravity, hence positive geotropism. Shoots grow away from gravity, thus negative geotropism. A clinostat is a device which is used to cancel the effect of gravity. The working of a clinostat: a. The clinostat is placed in a dark place b. When the motor is switched on, the cylinder rotates slowly. c. Since the position of plants inside the cylinder is constantly rotating, the effects of gravity is not sensed by the roots of the plants, hence not response is shown.

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Hydrotropism
1. 2. 3. A plants growth response towards water is known as hydrotropism. When placed in a place with two choices, damp and dry spots, a plants roots will move toward the damp spot. The response is said to be hydrotropism. When given a choice between gravity and water, the plant roots will prefer water. This means hydrotropism is stronger than geotropism as far as roots are concerned.

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Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

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Form Two Science; Chapter One: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

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