What membrane divides the outer and middle ear and vibrates to transfer sound to the inner ear?

What membrane divides the outer and middle ear and vibrates to transfer sound to the inner ear?

• A. Hammer
• B. Cochlea
• C. Eardrum
• D. Ear Canal

Answer: (C)

The membrane that separates the outer ear from the middle ear is the tympanic membrane, also known as the eardrum. When sound waves reach it, the membrane vibrates in response to the air pressure changes. Those vibrations set the middle ear bones—the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup)—into motion, amplifying the sound and passing the mechanical energy into the inner ear where the cochlea translates it into neural signals. The hammer is one of those middle ear bones, not the dividing membrane; the cochlea is in the inner ear, and the ear canal is part of the outer ear and does not transfer vibrations to the inner ear by itself.

The membrane that separates the outer ear from the middle ear is the tympanic membrane, also known as the eardrum. When sound waves reach it, the membrane vibrates in response to the air pressure changes. Those vibrations set the middle ear bones—the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup)—into motion, amplifying the sound and passing the mechanical energy into the inner ear where the cochlea translates it into neural signals. The hammer is one of those middle ear bones, not the dividing membrane; the cochlea is in the inner ear, and the ear canal is part of the outer ear and does not transfer vibrations to the inner ear by itself.