Question

Suppose you felt an earthquake, which of the following sense organs would you think was involved in this feeling?

• A. Eyes
• B. Skin of your soles
• C. Proprioceptors
• D. Ears

Answer 1

The correct option is D Ears

Eyes are the organ of sight and have photoreceptors which are activated by light and another form of electromagnetic radiations. Skin of sole has general receptors, mainly Meissner corpuscles and Merkel disk which is one of the three types of cutaneous mechanoreceptors sensitive to fine touch.

Proprioceptors are the mechanoreceptors which are activated by changes in pressure or movement and are involved in maintaining muscle tone, body equilibrium and posture. The inner ear consists of two systems of canals which are namely cochlea and vestibular apparatus. Vestibular apparatus consists of three semicircular canals, cristae and two sacs called as saccule and utricle. Mechanoreceptors in semicircular canal detect the rotational movement of the head (rotational equilibrium) while those of utricle and saccule detect the horizontal or vertical movement of the head (gravitational equilibrium). Thus, the disturbance in posture and balance of body, as brought about by the earthquake, is felt by mechanoreceptors present in vestibular apparatus of the inner ear as well as by proprioceptors.

Therefore, the correct answer is option D.