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Date May 2019 Marks available 2 Reference code 19M.3.SL.TZ2.6
Level Standard level Paper Paper 3 Time zone Time zone 2
Command term Identify Question number 6 Adapted from N/A

Question

Hearing loss can range from mild to severe. Cochlear implants have been used in those with profound hearing loss such as children who are born deaf. The image shows a cross section of the ear with a cochlear implant.

[Source: NIDCD (www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/cochlear-implants)]

Identify the parts of the ear labelled X and Y.

X:

Y: 

[2]
a.

Describe the use of cochlear implants in deaf patients.

[3]
b.

Markscheme

X: semicircular canals ✔

Y: eardrum/tympanic membrane ✔

a.

a. sound picked up by microphone relayed electronically to speech processor ✔

b. speech processor filters background noise/selects only speech frequencies ✔

c. «radio» signal from transmitter to receiver/stimulator which converts it to electric signal ✔

d. «electrical impulses» sent to electrode «array» in cochlea
OR
cochlear implant bypasses the hair cells in the cochlea ✔

e. electrode/electrical signal stimulates auditory nerve «fibers in cochlea» ✔

f. signals «generated by implant» sent to brain «which recognizes signals as sound» ✔

OWTTE

b.

Examiners report

Most candidates could identify the labelled parts of the ear.

a.

Although many had a reasonable idea about how cochlear implants function, they were unable to describe this in sufficient detail. Many students talked about amplifying sound, not changing the sound into electric signals.

b.

Syllabus sections

Option A: Neurobiology and behaviour » Option A: Neurobiology and behaviour (Core topics) » A.3 Perception of stimuli
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Option A: Neurobiology and behaviour » Option A: Neurobiology and behaviour (Core topics)
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