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GCSE Physics · key term
The eardrum is a thin membrane in the ear that vibrates when sound waves reach it.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Specification 4.6.1.4 · Paper 2
Revise: Sound wavesA sound wave travels along the auditory canal to the eardrum. Its changing pressure makes the eardrum vibrate in the pattern of the arriving wave. These vibrations pass through three small bones and then into liquid in the cochlea.
Specification 4.12P · Paper 1
The thin membrane at the end of the ear canal that vibrates when sound waves reach it.
Revise: Sound Conversion and HearingWhen it reaches a thin solid surface, such as the diaphragm of a microphone or the eardrum, those pressure changes push and pull the surface. The sound wave has caused a solid to vibrate. The surface generally vibrates at the frequency of the incoming sound, so it can follow the sound’s pattern.
Specification P5.1h · Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 4 (Higher)
A flexible membrane in the ear that vibrates when sound waves reach it.
Revise: Conversion of wave disturbancesSound reaching your ear then makes another solid structure—the eardrum—vibrate. These are examples of energy passing between a sound wave and vibrations of solid material, rather than the material itself travelling with the wave.
Trace what vibrates at each stage: air → eardrum → small bones → cochlear fluid. The brain receives nerve signals, not sound waves.
For hearing, follow the pathway in order: ear canal → eardrum → ossicles → cochlea → auditory nerve.
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