02.

EYE & EAR

GRADE 09 - SCIENCE

DELL
2.1. Structure and function of the human eye
You use your five senses to understand the world around you and to figure out what’s going on.
One of your five senses is sight, and it is with your eyes that you see the world. Eyes are constantly
working, from the time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to sleep. Let’s take a closer
look at the human eye!

FACTS ABOUT THE EYE

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 STRUCTURE IN THE EYE FUNCTION OF THE EYE STRUCTURE

CORNEA

PUPIL

RETINA

OPTIC NERVE

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CILIARY MUSCLE

AQUEOUS HUMOUR

LENS

IRIS

CHOROID LAYER

SCLERA

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SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS

BLIND SPOT

VITREOUS HUMOUR

How the eye perceives visionary senses

❖ The amount of light entering the eye is controlled by the pupil, which is surrounded by the iris
– the coloured part of the eye.
❖ Because the front part of the eye is curved, it bends the light, creating an upside-down image
on the retina. The brain eventually turns the image the right way up. Light enters to the eye
through the Cornea and Pupil and travel through the lens.

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What is meant by focus and focal point?

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The formation of image from a concave lens differs from that of a convex lens

• Convex lenses diverge light onto the focal point.. Concave lens, once a parallel beam of light
enters to the lens, it diverges and seems to be originated from the focal point.

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 • Light from a single point of a distant object and light from a single point of a near object being
brought to a focus by changing the curvature of the lens. The lens is a transparent, biconvex
structure in the eye that, along with the Cornea, helps to refract light to be focused on the
retina.

An image of a close object forms far from the Convex lens, while far
object forms an image, close to the lens.

ACTIVITY TO PROVE THE ABOVE STATEMENT

Materials needed:

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Methods:

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Observation and Conclusion:

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Even if we change the distance between the eye and the object, the distance

between lens of the eye and retina (image distance) remains the same.

But we still see objects which are far away as well as close by due to the change in

curvature of lens.
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 DEFECTS OF THE EYE

➢ Myopia: (Nearsightedness)

This is a defect of vision in which far objects appear blurred but near objects are seen clearly. The
image is focused in front of the Retina rather than on it usually because the eyeball is too long or the
refractive power of the eye’s lens is too strong. Myopia can be corrected by wearing glasses/contacts
with CONCAVE LENSES. These help to focus the image on the retina.

Defected eye

Correcting Myopia

➢ Hyperopia: (Farsightedness)

This is a defect of vision in which there is difficulty with near vision but far objects can
be seen easily. The image is focused behind the Retina rather than upon it. This occurs

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 when the eyeball is too short or the refractive power of the lens is too weak. Hyperopia
can be corrected by wearing glasses/contacts that contain CONVEX LENSES.

Defected eye

Correcting Hyperopia

➢ Astigmatism

This defect is when the all light rays do not come to a single focal point on the Retina,
instead, some focus on the Retina and some focus in front of or behind it. This is usually
caused by a non-uniform curvature of the Cornea. A typical symptom of Astigmatism
is if you are looking at a pattern of lines placed at various angles and the lines running
in one direction appear sharp whilst those in other directions appear blurred.
Astigmatism can usually be corrected by using a special spherical cylindrical lens; this is
placed in the out-of-focus axis.

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EYE RELATED PROBLEMS

➢ Cataracts

A cataract is a clouding of the lens, which prevents a clear, sharp image being produced.
A cataract forms because the lens is sealed in a capsule and as old cells die they get
trapped in the capsule, with time this causes a clouding over of the lens. This clouding
results in blurred images.

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 ➢ Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)

This is a degenerative condition of the macula (the central Retina). It is caused by the hardening of
the arteries that nourish the Retina. This deprives the Retinal tissue of the nutrients and Oxygen that
it needs to function and causes deterioration in central vision.

➢ Glaucoma

The eye produces a clear fluid (Aqueous Humor) that fills the space between the Cornea and the Iris.
This fluid filters out through a complex drainage system. It is the balance between the production and
drainage of this fluid that determines the eyes’ intraocular pressure (IOP). Glaucoma is a disease
caused by increased IOP usually resulting from a malfunction in the eyes’ drainage system. Increased
IOP can cause irreversible damage to the Optic Nerve and Retinal Fibers and if left untreated can
result in a permanent loss of vision.

Glaucoma is usually the result of high blood pressure inside the eye. A person with diabetes has an
increased risk of developing Glaucoma. The damage caused to the eye, cannot be reversed again.

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Name some methods that can be followed to prevent possible eye defects.
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STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN EAR

Our ears are one of the most complicated organs of our human body. You have an outer ear, middle
ear and an inner ear. The outer ear is the visible exterior part of the ear with the ear flap or pinna and
auditory canal. The middle ear consists of the eardrum and three very small bones.

• Auditory sensory organ of the body is the EAR

Inner Ear

The middle and inner parts of the ear are located in hollow spaces on either side of the head within
the temporal bones of the skull.

To hear sound, the ear has to do three basic things:

• Direct the sound waves into the hearing part of the ear.
• Sense the fluctuations in air pressure.

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 • Translate these fluctuations into an electrical signal that the brain can understand

The Outer Ear

The external part of the ear consists of the ……………………………………………………….

The Pinna or ear shell is the shell-like part of the external ear, and it is made of …………………….

The Pinna directs sound waves from the outside into …………………………………., which in turn
channels sound waves to the Tympanic Membrane (known as the ………………………), causing it
to vibrate. The Tympanic Membrane is a thin, semi-transparent, flexible membrane that separates the
outer and the middle ear.

The outer ear functions to collect sound (acoustic energy), and funnel it to the eardrum (Tympanic
membrane).

EXTERNAL
Collects sound waves

Direct sound waves into the Ear Canal

Ear Canal channels sound waves to the Eardrum

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The Middle Ear
The Middle Ear is an air-filled space that contains three tiny bones known as ossicles which transmit
sound. The bones are known individually (according to their shapes) as the:

• Malleus (Hammer)
• Incus (Anvil)
• Stapes (Stirrup)

Sound waves that reach the Tympanic Membrane cause it to vibrate. In turn, the Eardrum sets into
motion the first Ear bone, which transmits the motion to the second bone (the Incus). Finally, the
third bone (the Stapes) works like a piston to amplify and transform the sound energy into mechanical
energy.

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This mechanical energy is then transmitted from the Stapes to the hearing part (Cochlea) of the
inner ear via the Oval Window (a thin membrane between the Middle and Inner Ear).
The Middle Ear is connected to the back of the nose (nasopharynx) by the Eustachian Tube.

The Eustachian Tube

The Eustachian Tube is a narrow tube that connects the Middle Ear to the back of the nose and
throat. During swallowing, the Eustachian Tube opens up to allow air in to the Middle Ear, so that air
pressure on either side of the Tympanic Membrane is the same. In some situations, where there is a
sudden change in air pressure (for example – during takeoff and landing in a plane), the pressure in
the Middle Ear is not the same as the outside air pressure.

This can make the Eardrum bulge or retract and less able to transmit vibrations, causing temporary
hearing problems. By swallowing or “popping” the ears, the pressure can be equalized.

The Inner Ear

The delicate membranous Inner Ear (Labyrinth) is enclosed and protected by a bony chamber that is
referred to as the Bony Labyrinth. The Inner Ear contains two main structures:

The Cochlea, in the shape of a snail, which is involved in hearing. The round window (Fenestra
Cochlea) is a membrane that connects the Cochlea to the Middle Ear. It helps dampen the vibrations
in the Cochlea.

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The Vestibular system (consisting of the semicircular canals, saccule and utricle), which is responsible
for maintaining balance and a sense of position.

The Cochlea

The Cochlea is filled with fluid and contains the organ of Corti – a structure that contains thousands
of specialized sensory hair cells with projections called Cillia.

The Cochlea has approximately 30,000 hearing nerve endings in the hair cells. The hair cells in the
large end of the Cochlea respond to very high-pitched sounds, and those in the small end (and
throughout much of the rest of the Cochlea) respond to low-pitched sounds.

These hair cells, and the nerve that connects them to the brain, are susceptible to damage from a
variety of causes.

The vibrations transmitted from the Middle Ear cause tiny waves to form in the inner ear fluid, where
they are interpreted as sound. As the Stapes pushes back and forth against the Cochlea, it compresses
the fluid to create waves in the fluid-filled compartments which make the cilia vibrate.

Depending on the characteristics of the waves, specific nerve messages (impulses) are created. The
hair cells then convert these vibrations into nerve impulses, or signals, which are sent via the auditory
nerve (the hearing branch of the eight cranial nerve) to the base of the brain (brainstem) and the brain
where they are interpreted as sound.

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The Vestibular System

The Vestibular System (the semicircular canals, saccule and utricle)

The semicircular canals also contain fluid and hair cells, but these hair cells are responsible for
detecting movement rather than sound. As the head moves, fluid within the semicircular canals (which
sit at right angles to each other) also moves. The fluid motion is detected by the hair cells, which then
send nerve impulses about the position of the head and body to the brain to allow balance to be
maintained. The Utricle and Saccule work in a similar way to the semicircular canals, allowing you to
sense your body’s position relative to gravity and make postural adjustments as required.

The process of sound travelling to the human ear

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Defects of Ear

Disorders such as impaired hearing, deafening, hardening of Ossicles may occur in ears while living
or from the birth. It is also said that people who are deaf from birth are dumb too. Hearing aids can
be used as a remedy for loss of hearing. You know that 20 Hz – 20000 Hz is the audibility range of

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the human ear. There is also a limited intensity of sound in this range that the ear can tolerate. Sounds
beyond this range can damage the ear.

Q. Name some ways to protect the ear from been damaged.

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QUESTIONS

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