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The part of your ear you can see on the side of your head catches sounds. It sends them down a little tunnel called the ear canal.

At the end of the tunnel is the eardrum. When a sound arrives, the eardrum starts to shake. Three tiny bones pass the shaking on, deeper into your ear.

Deep inside is the cochlea. It is shaped like a snail shell and filled with liquid. Tiny hair cells inside it turn the shaking into a signal, and a nerve carries the signal to your brain. Now you hear the sound!

Your ears do another job too: parts deep inside them help you keep your balance and feel when your head turns.

Experiment: Big ears!

1. Sit still and quiet. The teacher plays a soft sound at the front of the room.
2. Listen with your hands down. How loud is it?
3. Now cup your hands behind your ears, like big animal ears. Listen again.
4. Turn so the sound is behind you and try again. What changes?
5. Show with your thumb: louder (up), the same (sideways) or quieter (down).

How I listened	Louder, the same or quieter?
Hands down
Hands cupped behind my ears
Hands cupped, sound behind me

Questions

1. Draw an ear. Draw an arrow to show where a sound goes.

   🍎

2. Did cupping your hands make the sound louder?

   yes / no

3. Write or draw one way to look after your ears.

Sources for every fact on this sheet: echoesof.science/school/ears/sources/

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