Final answer:
Different frequencies of sound waves vibrate specific areas of the basilar membrane, with high frequencies vibrating near the base and lower frequencies near the apex. This mechanism, central to place theory, is facilitated by hair cells tuned to respond to certain frequencies, enabling our fine pitch perception.
Step-by-step explanation:
Different frequency waves cause different locations along the basilar membrane to vibrate, which is integral to how we perceive pitch. According to the place theory of pitch perception, high frequency sounds cause the basilar membrane to vibrate near the base, close to the oval window, whereas lower frequency sounds vibrate the membrane closer to the apex, at the center of the cochlear whorl. Hair cells, which are organized in an orderly fashion along the basilar membrane, are sensitive to specific sound frequencies. These cells help encode sound waves into neural signals by responding to different frequencies at specifically mapped locations along the cochlea.
When comparing hair cells to piano strings, there is a significant difference in the response frequency, making the pitch sensitivity of the human ear remarkably fine-tuned. To accommodate the wide range of frequencies the human ear can detect, from 20 Hz up to 20,000 Hz, there are special auditory "sharpening" mechanisms that enhance pitch resolution.