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Biology 30 · Worksheets

The senses · Set A

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering The senses. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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The senses · Set A

Biology 30 · maddyhelps.com

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Circle the best answer for each question. Show your work in the space provided.

  1. Which structures detect rotation of the head?

    1. a) the semicircular canals
    2. b) the ossicles
    3. c) the Eustachian tube
    4. d) the cochlea

  2. An inner ear infection damages the semicircular canals but not the cochlea. What is most likely?

    1. a) Both deafness and balance loss
    2. b) Hearing loss, but normal balance
    3. c) Dizziness and balance problems, but normal hearing
    4. d) Loss of taste

  3. Which structure turns sound vibrations into nerve impulses?

    1. a) the stapes
    2. b) the eardrum
    3. c) the pinna
    4. d) the cochlea

  4. In nearsightedness (myopia), light focuses in front of the retina. How is it corrected?

    1. a) with a concave lens
    2. b) by removing the lens
    3. c) with a cylindrical lens only
    4. d) with a convex lens

  5. Which statement about rods is correct?

    1. a) They detect colour in bright light
    2. b) They are found only in the iris
    3. c) They work in dim light but do not detect colour
    4. d) They are packed most tightly in the fovea

  6. What are the three small bones of the middle ear?

    1. a) atlas, axis and stapes
    2. b) cochlea, vestibule and canals
    3. c) malleus, incus and stapes
    4. d) tympanum, pinna and cochlea

  7. Pressing gently on closed eyelids can make you "see" flashes of light. What best explains this?

    1. a) Rods detect heat from the fingers
    2. b) The lens reflects light from the eyelids
    3. c) The brain interprets any impulse from the eye as light
    4. d) Pressure produces real light inside the eye

  8. You stop noticing the feel of your clothes soon after getting dressed. This is called:

    1. a) the refractory period
    2. b) a reflex arc
    3. c) accommodation
    4. d) sensory adaptation

  9. What happens in the eye when you focus on something close?

    1. a) The ciliary muscles contract and the lens becomes more rounded
    2. b) The ciliary muscles relax and the lens flattens
    3. c) The cornea changes shape
    4. d) The pupil gets larger

  10. Why is there a blind spot in each eye?

    1. a) There are no photoreceptors where the optic nerve leaves the retina
    2. b) The iris blocks light from reaching it
    3. c) The cornea is thickest there
    4. d) The lens cannot focus light there

Answer key · The senses · Set A

Biology 30 · maddyhelps.com

  1. a) the semicircular canals — Fluid in the three semicircular canals moves when the head turns, bending hair cells. The cochlea is for hearing, not balance.
  2. c) Dizziness and balance problems, but normal hearing — The semicircular canals handle balance and the cochlea handles hearing. Damage to only one affects only its job.
  3. d) the cochlea — Hair cells in the organ of Corti, inside the cochlea, bend as fluid vibrates and start impulses in the auditory nerve. Everything before it only passes the vibration along.
  4. a) with a concave lens — A concave lens spreads light out slightly, pushing the focus back onto the retina. Farsightedness, where focus falls behind the retina, uses a convex lens.
  5. c) They work in dim light but do not detect colour — Rods are very sensitive, which suits dim light, but there is only one kind, so they cannot distinguish colours. The fovea is packed with cones.
  6. c) malleus, incus and stapes — The malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup) pass vibrations from the eardrum to the oval window, amplifying them along the way.
  7. c) The brain interprets any impulse from the eye as light — Receptors only send impulses; the brain decides what they mean based on where they came from. An impulse arriving along the optic nerve is read as light, however it started.
  8. d) sensory adaptation — Receptors respond less and less to a steady, unchanging stimulus, so the brain can focus on changes that matter.
  9. a) The ciliary muscles contract and the lens becomes more rounded — Near objects need more bending of light. The ciliary muscles contract, the ligaments slacken, and the elastic lens rounds up. This is called accommodation.
  10. a) There are no photoreceptors where the optic nerve leaves the retina — Where the optic nerve exits, there is no room for rods or cones, so light landing there is not detected. The brain fills in the gap.