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ICSE Question Bank
2023Q2(iv)(e)Sense Organs
Odd one outEasy1 mark
2(iv)

Choose the odd one out from the following terms and name the category to which the others belong:

Malleus, Incus, Cochlea, Stapes.

Topic: Ear ossicles

Previous-year question practice database

Answer

Exam answer

Odd one out: COCHLEA. Category of the others: EAR OSSICLES (the bones of the middle ear).

Explanation

Malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup) are the three EAR OSSICLES — the smallest bones in the body — lying in the MIDDLE ear. They amplify vibrations and pass them from the eardrum to the oval window.

The COCHLEA is not a bone at all but the coiled, fluid-filled organ of the INNER ear, containing the organ of Corti, where vibrations are converted into nerve impulses.

So the division is twofold — bone against organ, and middle ear against inner ear.

Learn the ossicles in ORDER (malleus → incus → stapes), because papers ask for the first, the last or the middle one, and the stapes in particular for the bone that fits into the oval window.

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